Stephen Lowry accepts Coleraine’s unbeaten streak will be put to the test against Crusaders and Linfield over the course of the next seven days.
The Bannsiders, who have yet to lose in 11 league outings and lie second in the Danske Bank Premiership, face Stephen Baxter’s table-topping Crues this afternoon.
And next Saturday they welcome champions Linfield, who lifted the Gibson Cup for the second time in three years in April, to the Showgrounds.
Lowry is relishing the high profile challenges ahead, but knows Coleraine’s early season credentials are about to be put through the wringer.
“We want to keep our unbeaten run going, but we know we’re facing two really stiff tests in Crusaders and Linfield,” he said.
“We face a run of fixtures where a couple of defeats could impact on where you are in the table, but we have to look forward to them.
“They’re always tough games, but we’re going into this week lying second in the league and we have everything to gain.
“Seaview has a great surface and it should suit how we want to play, so we will look forward to the challenge.”
Lowry believes Oran Kearney’s seamless (and impressive) return for a second spell as manager in July has fed into Coleraine’s vibrant start to the campaign.
“Oran is getting the best out of players who had maybe gone off the boil,” he said.
“There’s a really good buzz in the camp, the players are really enjoying it and we’re in a nice position in the league.”
Lowry, who rejoined Coleraine from Linfield in 2018, admits very few pundits would have predicted the Bannmen’s flying start to the campaign.
“Definitely not, I wouldn’t have predicted it myself,” he said. “We’ve had a great start and if anything we could have more points on the board.
“Look at the games we have drawn. We conceded late against Cliftonville, got a man sent off against Institute and led 2-0 at Glentoran and ended up drawing with 10 men.
“That’s frustrating but we’ve also picked up some big results against the likes of Linfield (4-2) and Crusaders (4-2) and hopefully that augurs well.”
While Coleraine are flying high, Lowry accepts the Bannmen’s squad may need strengthening if they are to maintain their challenge into the New Year.
“Our squad is quite small,” he said. “If we can stay in there around the pack until January, I’d say we’ll probably look to strengthen if we can.
“On our day we are a match for anyone and we don’t have many injuries at the moment which is a real plus.
“I’m sure Oran is happy with the players at his disposal, but at any club there’s always room to strengthen.”
The Crues are looking to bounce back from a midweek penalty shootout loss to Ballymena United in the County Antrim Shield.
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