Start of a big week for Newry City as they work towards ultimate goal of "staying in the league"

They travel to Coleraine tonight before a huge clash with Dungannon Swifts at home on Friday evening as both teams fight for Danske Bank Premiership survival.

Newry are coming off a 2-0 defeat to Carrick Rangers but will feel they should have got more from the game after failing to take two massive chances in the first-half with the match still goalless.

Carrick striker Emmett McGuckin made them pay the ultimate price by bagging a brace but Mullen says his men will be looking to rebound after a tough loss.

"We won't be feeling sorry for ourselves because we're back at it on Tuesday at Coleraine and another massive game here on Friday, but we won't look too far past Tuesday,” he said.

"This one (Carrick) hurts because it's fresh. We knew the importance of it.

"We could have closed the gap on those above us and put a gap between us and the teams below us and we didn't take that chance.

"There are going to be lots of twists and turns between now and the end of the season. We need to learn from it and move on."

Newry had started to build some momentum after consecutive league draws against Ballymena United and Larne and also triumphed in the Mid-Ulster Cup.

They haven’t won any of their last 11 league games on the pitch and are just three points clear in tenth-place of Dungannon, but Mullen is prepared to fight right until the very end if required.

"If it should take the last game of the season - it might not be good for the heart - but should it take it to stay in the league then so be it,” he added.

"There are going to be a lot of bumps along the way, highs and lows, but if we stay in this league it has been an absolutely brilliant season - that's the reality of it.

"I know fans want to win every game and we should be performing better than we did tonight (vs Carrick), but the ultimate goal is to stay in the league. If we do that, brilliant."