We’ll continue to develop star man
The Crues have nurtured Whyte since he was a raw, freshfaced teenager and he now has a talent and value that any interested club must respect.
Another magnificent performance in the 2-1 win over Linfield underlined his growing confidence and maturity.
“We undersell ourselves in this country when we talk about not standing in a player’s way of moving on,” said Baxter.
“We have developed Gavin since he was 15 and grown him to the stature he is today. He’s the most wonderful kid, he eats out of your hand and he’s focused on doing well with Crusaders. We will look after him and always will. He won’t be devalued, only helped in his career and if I was the manager of a club a few levels up I’m surprised my phone hasn’t rung 50 times in the last month because that’s how good he has been.
“He looks sensational but these things aren’t in my control. Football people can see the talent and they should talk to us without wasting our time. A year ago my time was wasted for six weeks answering questions about Gavin and dealing with idiot scouts on my telephone.”
Former Crues ace Josh Robinson headed the Blues in front after only 66 seconds at Windsor Park but the visitors came roaring back in the second half with a thunderbolt from Billy Joe Burns and Whyte’s strike, which deflected off Robinson, sealing a huge win for the Shore Road men who are now only two points behind league leaders Coleraine, with a game in hand.
Baxter added: “It was Linfield in the National Stadium but it was an Irish League game and it needed the same intensity and focus as other games.
“We didn’t want to make it a cup final, we wanted to play an Irish League game and we were nervy in the early stages. The boys got a bit of a roasting at half-time about what this game