Bradblow

Having reached five cautions Bradley is ruled out of the game at Linfield on Saturday, he will then serve a six match ban for the incident at Seaview with Colin Coates.

His red card for a reported head butt means an automatic six match suspension. Because the sanction for a head butt is mandatory, Glenavon cannot make an appeal.

Bradley will sit out games against Loughall (h) Warrenpoint (a), Ballinamallard (h), Coleraine (a), Ballymena (h) and a potential Irish Cup semi-final if the Lurgan Blues reach that stage.

“There is no getting away from the fact it is a huge blow to us,” said Hamilton.

“He has been in great form lately and his two goals against Portadown bring him to 20 for the season.

“When you take that out of a team then it is going to be hard to make up for it.

“We are pushing hard to catch the teams above us so it could not have come at a worse time.

“However, we will just have to get on with it and keep playing our football and keep creating the chances and see where that takes us.

“We are a point behind Cliftonville but they have a match in hand which they should win so it is important we get a result on Saturday.

“If we can manage the win, it brings us to within three of Linfield so it is a huge game for both teams.

“We don’t hold any fears going to Windsor Park, we have the quality to go there and get something out of the game. From the day I took charge of Glenavon my tactics have always been to play to win and that is what we will do on Saturday.”