Coleraine boss Oran Kearney admits Conor McKendry has added a few grey hairs to his head as he tips winger to add important numbers to his game

The winger was the torment in chief at The Showgrounds on Friday night as he set-up both of Matthew Shevlin's goals as the Bannsiders recovered from going behind to win 2-1 in front of a crowd of almost 3,500.

As McKendry got his third campaign on the Ballycastle Road up and running in spectacular style, Kearney remains confident that a blistering season for the former Ipswich Town trainee is "going to come".

"I've had lots of conversations with Conor over the last couple of years, he turns me grey and there's a huge amount of frustration and we laugh and joke about it," he said.

"On a serious note, and I say it to him, he can be right up there with the best in the league, if not the best.

"At times he maybe does the hard thing, picks the harder option, rather than just check, cross, get your assist and keep building his numbers and stats.

"I'm adamant the season is going to come. His numbers over the last couple of seasons have been good but I believe they should be higher.

"He can turn my whole head grey but I'm adamant I'm going to get it out of him.

"That's one out of 38 so hopefully he can keep kicking in that direction."

Shevlin netted 29 times in all competitions last season that saw him share the Golden Boot alongside Cliftonville ace Ronan Hale.

After watching his talisman getting off the mark early doors this season, Kearney is of the belief that he can get even better learning from and playing with Davy McDaid in attack.

"Matthew has grown as a person and he's grown with his intelligence as a striker," he added.

"You can say what you want but he's razor-sharp for the first one as he's the only guy to react to Conor's ball across the front.

"The second one we say to him all the time about working hard but also working smart. He needs to be between the posts loads. When the delivery comes in from Conor he needs to be there and he is.

"People might say it's an easy finish but that's what is bread and butter for strikers.

"I think Davy can be very important for Matthew.

"I think Davy has already been a brilliant influence for Matthew and there's loads of Davy's game that he can take from.

"It's not that we want to remove Matthew's work rate or energy, but sometimes it's about that little bit of conservation so that when we're in the final third he still has the legs and the lungs to go on and finish.

"It's finding that happy medium, but I think they will be a good foil for each other, they've struck up a good relationship off the pitch and hopefully they can continue to build."