Excitement is building ahead of tonight’s Northwest derby between Derry City and Finn Harps at Maginn Park.

The Candy Stripes are hoping to get back to winning ways after consecutive defeat to Bray Wanderers and Cork City in recent weeks, while Harps are also hoping to avoid a third successive loss.

The game has numerous subplots with several firmer City players in the Harps line-up, including Paddy McCourt, who is set to play against his former team for the first time since leaving the club in 2008.

The three points are what matters most however, and Kenny Shiels is expecting a much-improved performance from his players following their slump at Turner’s Cross at the weekend.

“We have got to try and win the game and we’ll be working hard to try and do that,” he told the Derry News. “Every game is about winning. I was disappointed in how we played last week. I went over the game with the players and there was a certain amount of fear in how we performed. I wasn’t expecting that and I didn’t like that.

“We can’t have that; a fear of letting people down. We will never have success until we eliminate that. Players are given the freedom to play ad we must produce expression in the game. We can’t be afraid to make mistakes. Players have to step up now on Friday night and they know that and that’s the challenge.”

Last season’s derby games were memorable with Harps taking four points off their great rivals, and Shiels is expecting another classic encounter. It is a game, he admits, that both teams desperately want to win.

“People say that the derby is a leveller and you get that because of the commitment from people,” he continued. “They have put tremendous emphasis on this game to try and win it, I’m told. That’s good because that’s professional, but they need to be doing it every game, the same as us. There’s no point in us putting in a massive shift against Finn Harps and not putting in the same effort against Galway. We can’t do that. We can’t isolate. You have to have commitment in every game. It is maximum commitment and maximum effort in every game. It is a game that we need to win and it doesn’t matter if it’s Finn Harps or Galway, we have to win this game.”

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team on 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories Or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Or you can email gareth@derrynews.net at any time.