Rodney McAree says his Glentoran squad have to "get back on track as quickly as possible" after they suffered the first loss of his tenure on Saturday.
The Glens went down 2-1 to Cliftonville leaving them 17 points off league leaders Larne.
They do have three games in hand, the first at home to Glenavon this evening.
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McAree has been pleased with the response from the Glens in recent weeks but accepts that his side cannot afford a slump in results, and he knows it will not be easy against the Lurgan Blues.
"When we went to Newry in the first game, we were a mile off it," he said.
"We were never going to win every game between then and the end of the season.
"We've made a good stab at it to start with but we have to get back on track as quickly as we can.
"We need to be careful of our next match against Glenavon who have a better record against top half teams than those in the bottom half.
"I will always pay the utmost respect against a Gary Hamilton team and we have to make sure we get back on track."
Meanwhile, McAree is hoping for positive news over forwards Jay and Ruaidhri Donnelly.
Jay missed the defeat at Solitude with brother Ruaidhri forced to come off after only 37 minutes.
"Jay had tight calves over the past few days," said McAree.
"Our fear was that we would play him and one of them would pop and then lose him for four or five weeks, which ultimately means six or seven games.
"Hopefully, he will be in a better place by the start of this week but Jay himself knew he wasn't ready to play.
"The physios thought he wasn't able to play and you have to take that advice.
"Hopefully, he will be back and free from injury for the rest of the season.
"Ruaidhri got a whack on the back with a knee and didn't feel as though he could continue.
"However, I thought when Junior came on, he did very well and showed glimpses of a very good player.
"He played on the right against Coleraine where it didn't him, he's played okay on the left a few times but through the middle he did well."
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