'Scheduling of fixtures really poor and unfair' - Turner

Glentoran manager Kim Turner has questioned whether "people really care about the women's game" after her side played two matches on consecutive days. The east Belfast side were heavily defeated by Cliftonville in the Women's League Cup final on Sunday before being beaten 2-0 by Lisburn Rangers in the Women's Challenge Cup quarter-finals on Monday evening. Turner's side are aiming to defend their league title as well as balancing cup competitions and European qualifiers and added "club reps are looking into" the scheduling. "I think the scheduling of the fixtures is really poor and really unfair on players, who are working full-time jobs as well as juggling some important games into their schedule," Turner told Glentoran media. "We are trying to do our best and prepare the squad as best we can for the games, but the fact is the games have to be played. Uefa are really clear about the required amount of recovery time between fixtures, and it makes me think, do people actually care about the women's game? "Our club reps are looking into it and the players have also spoken to the PFA about it and hopefully we actually see something happening as it's not fair on the clubs." The Glens could find themselves in a similar situation later this month when they face Riga FC in Champions League qualifying on 22 July and are due to host rivals Linfield in the Irish Premiership two days later. However, if they can overcome the Latvian side in first round qualifying, they will also play against either Wrexham or Pyunik on 25 July, a day after their league fixture with the Blues. "The Champions League qualifiers don't seem to have been factored into the fixture schedule at all," she continued. "That's unfair on the likes of ourselves who want to give a good account of not only ourselves, but the league and country as a whole." 'We have to block out any outside noise' The Glens are aiming to lift the Premiership trophy once again after they won a final-day decider against the Reds last season to secure top spot. They have made a bright start to their title defence and are unbeaten after five league games. The east Belfast side sit second, level on points with leaders Linfield, who have played a match more, with the sides meeting on Friday at Midgley Park (19:45 BST). "There's no better game to get us going again than against Linfield, but we know it's going to be another real test for us. "They are currently top of the league and they are there on merit having lost only one game so far and that was a narrow defeat to Cliftonville back in May. "They will be relishing the game as they will see it as a real opportunity to inflict a bit more pain on us so we have to make sure that we don't allow that to happen." Turner added that the side are "capable of great things" as they aim to put the tough spell behind them. "What we have to do now is go on another run and put these defeats behind us as there are some really big games coming up for us over the next few weeks. "We have to block out any outside noise and focus on what we have to do ourselves as that's the only thing we are in control of. "We are a talented squad who are capable of great things, but we have to go out and show that on the pitch by producing a performance that will be good enough to get us a win."