Gormley and Donnelly are only warming up, warns Curran

MIDFIELDER Chris Curran believes Cliftonville fans have yet to see the best of Joe Gormley and Rory Donnelly.

Both players took a bit of time to adjust to life in the Danske Bank Premiership after returning from England, but they are now firing on all cylinders.

Barry Gray’s side are unbeaten in six games, conceding only one goal.

With Glentoran due to make the journey across town today, Curran sees this as another op- portunity to gain more points.

He said: “The boys are raring to go after missing two games last weekend because of the weather. It was really frustrating, especially as we were due to meet Glenavon on our 4G pitch at Solitude last weekend.

“There was just too much snow to be moved.

“Then, the League Cup semi final at Ballymena was called off, which wasn’t totally unexpected. So we can’t wait to get started again.

“It won’t be easy against Glentoran. They seem to struggle in home games, but produce their best form away from home which is strange. Maybe the pressure of playing in front of home fans gets to them, but we have no such problems.”

With Gormley and Donnelly producing the goods at one end of the pitch, the Reds have also turned into a mean machine at the other.

Curran added: “We are always going to get goals from Joe and Rory. They are two natural goal scorers. They have now settled into a great partnership.

“With boys like that on song, we’ll always be a threat — and they can only get better.

“Jay Donnelly and Daniel Hughes chip in with their fair share. But the defence also deserves a lot of credit, they have really shored things up at the back. The goal we conceded at Warrenpoint Town was the first since our 2-1 home defeat by Coleraine on October 21. Clean sheets mean a lot in this league.”

Curran also is quick to doff his cap in the direction of manager Barry Gray, who has turned the Reds into title contenders.

“The boss has put his own stamp on things at the club,” added Curran.

“When a new manager comes in, it always takes time go get things right. But the boys have all bought in to Barry’s methods. We go out and try to carry out the instructions the best we can.

“There is certainly no talk about us (as title candidates), but that’s the way we like it. Everyone is talking about Crusaders, Glenavon and Coleraine.

“That really suits us. It means there is no pressure on us. We are now coming into a busy period. If we are still on the tails of the leaders in mid-January, we’ll be happy. I know it’s boring to say, but it’s about taking one game at a time.” Looking ahead: Cliftonville ace Chris Curran