Relegation six-pointer at Seaview as Crues face Glenavon

Relegations struggles are not something that any club wants to deal with but, if your team can produce a dramatic fightback and claw their way to safety, a season to forget can quickly turn into a season to be remembered for a great escape.

After 11 games this season, Glenavon were without a point and were rock bottom of the Irish Premiership table.

Now, they remain in 12th position, but they have registered seven points in their last three games to close the gap while the team above them, 11th-placed Crusaders, have secured just one point in their last eight matches.

Ahead of the side's penultimate match against each other this season on Saturday, BBC Sport NI takes a look at what is at stake in the race to avoid the drop to the Championship.

Saturday's match at Seaview could prove vital in deciding which team is relegated automatically and who will finish in the promotion/relegation play-off place.

The north Belfast side have comfortably won both encounters between the teams this season and manager Declan Caddell will be hoping his injury-ravaged side can produce a good display and a similar result in their third meeting.

If the Lurgan Blues gain the three points, they will move off the bottom of the table for the first time in six months due to a superior goal difference.

Few people would have thought that Glenavon would be in this situation ahead of the split and credit for this turnaround has to go to manager Michael O'Connor.

In his first managerial role, O'Connor has taken the Lurgan Blues from a side in despair to one with a chance of surviving.

The 38-year-old was appointed Glenavon boss of in October and brought in Mark Ferguson and Andrew Doyle as part of his coaching staff.

Despite a lack of immediate new manager bounce, over time, the new managerial team has steadied the ship.

This year, there have been some big wins when they needed it most.

Goals from Paul McGovern and Harry Lynch secured three crucial points against Cliftonville, with the Lurgan Blues then beating Bangor 3-1 in February, before a win against rivals Portadown in March further enhancing their chances of staying up.

Former Glenavon defender James Singleton believes that this former side will beat Crusaders on Saturday and will do enough in the split to move out of the automatic relegation place.

Singleton played for Glenavon for nearly a decade before making the move to east Belfast to join Glentoran three years ago and has praised O'Connor for transforming their fortunes with a strong January transfer window.

Glenavon brought in the likes of Charlie Lindsay, Nathaniel Ferris, Conor Falls, John Mountney and Gavin Gilmore to help steer them out of trouble.

"O'Connor has brought in decent players in January and fair play to him. He has done a great job down there," Singleton told BBC Sport NI.

"Glenavon have good players, they have been unfortunate this season with injuries and I think it was key that they strengthened in January and I think they did that.

"I think they have enough to do it and complete the escape."

Crusaders have been more used to challenging for league titles and European places than being embroiled in a relegation battle in the last decade, but this season has certainly been one to forget so far.

The north Belfast outfit may have the second-highest goalscorer of the season so far, in on-loan striker Fraser Bryden, but they have struggled at the other end, conceding 69 goals, more than any other club in the league.

It was always going to be a hard task at the helm for Caddell, who took over from longest serving Irish Premiership manager Stephen Baxter last season.

While he led them to a sixth-place finish last term, this year has been more of a struggle.

They have brought in a lot of players from Scotland who have shown glimpses of potential but haven't settled into the league as quickly as Caddell would have hoped.

The loss of experienced Irish League pair Jarlath O'Rourke and Ross Clarke to Glentoran in January also robbed Caddell of two club stalwarts and severely hindered the young side in their attempts to arrest their slide down the table.

The last time that Crusaders found themselves in the relegation play-off place at the end of the season was during the 2004-05 season.

Coincidentally, that season they played Glenavon in the play-off with the Lurgan Blues winning 3-2 on aggregate to condemn the Crues to relegation to the Championship for the first time.

As relegation six-pointers go, this match at Seaview will have a huge impact for both sides heading into the split.

A Glenavon win will only increase belief that they can stay up and they are on an upward trajectory.

A first Crusaders win since 3 January would help them end a difficult run and give them a six-point cushion heading into the business end of the campaign.

Despite the challenging campaign, Caddell is confident that if his side show the same qualities as they did against rivals Cliftonville in a narrow 1-0 defeat on Tuesday night, "we will be absolutely fine".

"They are all massive games and have been for the last month. Glenavon have hit a bit of form and are fighting for every point, as are we," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"If we show the fight, commitment and work rate that we showed against Cliftonville, we will be absolutely fine from now until the end of the season.

"We just have to tidy up on that bit of quality and probably going forward. The start of the season we were exceptional going forward and leaking goals. It was the reverse [against Cliftonville], defensively we were a lot better but lacked creativity."

Annagh United currently sit top of the Championship and have a five-point lead over Limavady in second position.

The Roesiders themselves have a four-point gap and game in hand on H&W Welders, who have 58 points and occupy third position.

On Tuesday evening, Loughgall suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat by Ards to leave them eight points off the top three.

If the battle for second is between Limavady and H&W Welders, both will bring a serious threat to the Premiership side that is involved in the play-off.

Limavady have experience including the Lowry brothers [Philip and Stephen] and have the second-best record at home this season with 36 points from 16 games.

They have already faced Premiership opposition this year and knocked defending league champions Linfield out of the Irish Cup.

As for the Welders, they have scored more league goals than anyone else in the Championship this year, but their typical formation does also leave them susceptible to leaking goals on the counter-attack.