Irish Premiership: What went wrong for relegated Glenavon this season?
Despite the dreams of Glenavon's fans and players avoiding the automatic drop were ended at the penultimate hurdle, former assistant manager Colin Coates believe the club now have a chance to come back stronger.The side announced in March that a proposed investment from Football International Limited had been completed which will boost their hopes of returning back to the top flight next season."It just shows where the league is at. Every team outside the top four, that can happen to them," Colin Coates said on BBC Ulster's Sportsound. "One bad summer in terms of transfer window or one bad run of form at the start of the season, it can cost you your place in the Premiership. That is how competitive it is."Disappointed for Glenavon but I hope in some ways it gives them an opportunity to reset. "I remember when I got relegated in 2005 with Crusaders, it let us reset as a club not just a team. Obviously, the rest is history after that." Coates was part of McLaughlin's coaching staff who helped Glenavon avoid relegation last year but couldn't keep that momentum going into this campaign."Glenavon have been flirting with relegation for the last three seasons and have had to change their manager before Christmas to try salvage their season, but it hasn't worked out this time," he added. "They probably left too much to do when Michael O'Connor came in and maybe this will give them the opportunity, with the investment, to take stock, go again and hopefully go up at the first time of asking."
