'We have to be at our best' at Annagh - Caddell

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell said his side are prepared to face a "big, physical and direct" Annagh United in Tuesday's promotion/relegation play-off first leg at the BMG Arena (19:45 BST).

The Crues come into the play-off in good form and are unbeaten in their past four league matches.

As for Annagh, they are without a win in six games and finished nine points behind Championship winners Limavady United.

The sides will meet again on Friday, 1 May for the second leg of the play-off to decide who will compete in the Irish Premiership and who will play in the Championship next campaign.

"I have done a lot of homework the last two weeks and I have loads of information on them and watched a lot of their games," Caddell told BBC Sport NI.

"They are a big, physical and direct side and they play really well. It is going to be a tough place to go, and we can't take anything for granted because they will punish you.

"They have talented players who will punish you if given the chance, so we have to be at our very best."

Annagh are no strangers to the play-off having been defeated by Carrick Rangers 5-2 on aggregate last season.

However, after a challenging campaign, the Crues have impressed post-split in the Irish Premiership and avoided the automatic relegation spot by losing just one of their final five fixtures.

Caddell praised his side's performances over the last number of weeks and believes that momentum will help them retain their Premiership status.

"Confidence is everything in football and when you go through that losing cycle every week, you create bad habits," he continued.

"I think we were sparked by that late equaliser against Bangor, which shot a bit of belief and feel good into them.

"Credit to them, they have kicked on massively from it."

You can follow live text commentary with in-play clips of the first-leg on the BBC Sport NI website.