Seven points, nine games - will Glenavon avoid the drop?

For a long time this campaign, it has looked like Glenavon would be facing relegation from the Irish Premiership at the end of the season.

However, just like in the title race at the other end of the table, it looks like there will be twists and turns with just nine games left this season.

The Lurgan Blues, who are bottom of the table, collected their first away points of the season with a 3-1 win at Bangor, while Crusaders slipped to a 5-2 defeat in the north Belfast derby at Cliftonville.

The results mean that Glenavon have moved to within seven points of Crusaders in 11th place, which isn't headline news on first reading.

However, when Michael O'Connor took charge of Glenavon in October they were 11 points off automatic safety, and they have now won two of their last four matches.

Declan Caddell's Crusaders, on the other hand, last won a game of football on 3 January.

Ballymena United are just three points ahead of the Crues and are far from safe, while Portadown and Bangor will want more points on the board to ensure their place in the top flight.

So, with just four games left before the split, when the bottom six sides will all face each other in the final five rounds of fixtures, will Glenavon drag themselves off the bottom of the table, or will Crusaders pull clear?

Former Portadown title winner Philip Major said the lack of leadership was a worry for Crusaders, who lost Jarlath O'Rourke and Ross Clarke to Glentoran in January, and when asked if he feared for the Seaview side he said, "I do".

"I'm concerned for them regarding the leadership on the pitch. That is something that has given them some trouble this season," he added on Sportsound.

"They have lost a lot of leaders in their dressing room and they need to create much more resilience as a squad. So far it hasn't really happened and I'd guess it is because there are so many young players.

"Maybe they'll grow into that role, but whether they will grow quickly enough to get themselves out of that play-off position, I'd have reservations.

"If Glenavon continue with their upward trajectory then you could see them looking at Crusaders and thinking they have something to play for."

Crucially, the bottom two sides still have to face each other two more times this season - and both will be crucial.

First of all, on 14 March the Lurgan Blues will travel to Seaview and they will play again at Mourneview Park in the post-split fixtures.

O'Connor said he was "delighted" with Glenavon's performance in the win over Bangor on Saturday, as Conor Falls scored twice and Barney McKeown also netted.

The former Northern Ireland midfielder said he aimed to avoid relegation when he took the job at Mourneview Park and that that ambition hasn't changed as the season as progressed.

"We were 11 points behind at that point and Crusaders had two or three games in hand," he said on BBC Radio Ulster.

"We're slowly but surely getting there. The next nine games are nine cup finals for us. You have to give everything you have, you can't have any regrets.

"It's only three points at the end of the day and we have to move on to Tuesday."

On the other hand, Crusaders coach Sean O'Neill said they were made to pay for an "awful" opening 20 minutes against Cliftonville.

O'Neill, who joined the Crues' coaching set-up in January, said it "wasn't good enough" but the onus was on the club to turn their form around, and not worry about Glenavon's recent upturn results.

"Look, we just have to rely on ourselves. We need points on the board, and we need them as soon as possible," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The fact that other teams are picking up results is what it is. We can't worry about what others are doing, we have to look after ourselves.

"For too many weeks now, too many lads have been looking over their shoulder, and that's not the Crusaders way.

"We need to knuckle down, get points on the board, and get back at it."