Is Magilton under pressure after five straight defeats?

Five successive league defeats, just one goal scored in those losses and a descent down to ninth in the Irish Premiership table, Cliftonville are enduring a real tough spell at present.

The mood around the club was good after a gutsy 3-1 away to Carrick Rangers on 12 September as they bounced back well following their first defeats of the campaign against Linfield and Dungannon Swifts.

But that feel-good factor has quickly evaporated in the four weeks since that victory.

The north Belfast side have lost against Larne, Glentoran, Limavady United, Ballymena United and now Coleraine in succession to leave them with just four victories from their 11 league games so far.

The pressure is surely building on their boss Jim Magilton, especially as their recent downturn in form has coincided with him holding talks and subsequently rejecting the chance to take over at the Glens.

On Tuesday, 14 September Cliftonville suffered their first defeat of this five-game losing run, going down 2-0 to a classy Larne side at Inver Park.

That same day it transpired that Glentoran had made an approach to speak with Magilton to see if he would be open to taking over after Declan Devine was relieved of his duties the day prior.

Magilton opted to remain at the Reds, where he has won an Irish Cup and a BetMcLean Cup, but in a cruel twist of fate, their second defeat on the bounce then came against the managerless Glens four days later, as they were left to rue missed chances in a 2-1 loss.

Then came the nadir of this sequence, a 1-0 defeat against Limavady United in which they produced an abject display that Magilton described as "embarrassing".

Fine margins have since cost them against Ballymena, and again on Saturday against Coleraine as they suffered a third successive 1-0 reverse, but alarmingly defeat by the Bannsiders was already their seventh loss so far this term.

They lost 15 league games in the entirety of last season as they finished fifth, although they did endure a seven-game winless streak in all competitions in March and April last year.

Magilton turned it around after that, and is certainly not losing faith that he can do it again as he felt encouraged by his side's performance at a blustery Showgrounds despite defeat.

"Today I did (see enough to be positive) and in other games there were moments. Some games I've been highly critical but I can't be critical today," Magilton said.

"I thought they showed courage and quality, probably not enough in the final third, but this game is about inches. It didn't happen for us, it happened for them.

"Games like this show character and our players showed enough character to win the game."

Part of the problem for Cliftonville has been their inability to score goals. They have registered just 12 from their 11 games.

Winger Ben Quinn is their top scorer with four, the last of which came in the win over Carrick.

Striker Brian Healy has found the net just twice as he has struggled up top on his own, although he was unlucky against Coleraine as his shot rattled the woodwork.

Rhyss Campbell has failed to get going after a year out with an ACL tear, while long-term injuries have left the Reds unable to call upon the likes of Ryan Curran, Eric McWoods and Ryan Corrigan.

They have issues at the other end too, as they have only kept one clean sheet in the league, which came in their best performance of the season in a 3-0 away win against Bangor.

The loss of the experienced Jonny Addis, after the January departures of the reliable Jack Keaney and Odhran Casey, has hit the Reds hard.

Despite starting with three-centre backs in Alex Bannon, Kyle McClelland and Shaun Leppard against Coleraine, all three failed to track Matthew Shevlin's run into the box as he tucked home the only goal of the game at the Showgrounds.

Goalkeeper PJ Morrison has prevented the margin of the defeats in the losing run being greater and he proved his worth again with two big stops to deny Joel Cooper and Ben Wylie on Saturday.

He pulled off impressive saves against Larne and Ballymena too, although he was at fault for Limavady's winning goal a fortnight ago, and Magilton acknowledged that keeping clean sheets is an area his team need to urgently address to start picking up points.

"If you can keep clean sheets you have a real chance of winning games. It's the odd goal and it has been the odd goal in the five games, there's learnings from the game but we'll go up the road, lick our wounds and go all guns blazing on Tuesday night," he said.

In a welcome distraction from league action, the Reds host Glentoran, who are still rumoured to be interested in appointing Magilton to their vacant managerial role, in the ToalsBet Senior Shield on Tuesday.

They then have a crucial league game against fellow strugglers Portadown in next Saturday's late Irish Premiership kick-off (18:00 BST).

Two wins in a week could quickly change the mood music again around Solitude, but two defeats could lead to more questions about Magilton's future.