Thick of battle for title delight, Gray urges Cliftonville stars
“I’m not saying we can match what Coleraine have done but last season is gone,” added Gray.
“It was a roller-coaster ride, even the ending when we had a low and then finished on a high.
“We were glad to see the back of the season and start again. The search for consistency goes on and you look at Coleraine as being possibly the most consistent team last season. That gives you a chance to win trophies.
“There was about 20 points between the top two and the rest, that’s a substantial gap and I go back to the start of our sea- The Swifts have lacked a real attacking threat since Andrew Mitchell left for Glenavon so can returning striker McAllister (right) rediscover his old magic? His career has been badly disrupted by injury but with the right attitude he can hurt Premiership teams again. With Ryan Mayse gone and now Paul McElroy placed on the transfer list, can the Swifts build on their historic League Cup success? Boss Rodney McAree won’t accept falling standards.
son when we lost seven games in three months.
“Coleraine lost one the entire season and while it was an exceptional run it underlines the
importance of consistency.
“Our targets are working hard to be more consistent. We know we have the quality to beat teams but our form was unacceptable in that sense. We have worked hard to address that but the proof will be in the pudding. As soon as the campaign starts we will know what is working.”
Like other managers around the league, Gray is intrigued to see how Crusaders’ new fulltime approach takes shape down the road at Seaview.
“I’m delighted to see Crusaders take on a more full-time approach and I hope it works but in my opinion going full-time doesn’t automatically make you 10 points better than everyone else,” he added. “If I was trying it with my squad some of them would like to train full-time, some of them wouldn’t be able to and they might be your better players who have jobs.
“There’s a transitional period to get everyone onto a fulltime basis. It takes time to get the right structures in place. Maybe it’s more three-quartertime than full-time. It’s great for the league. If it’s successful they can drag other teams along. My belief would be that the senior clubs need to do that. It’s doable and perhaps more will think about going down that road.”