Healy hoping Linfield can raise their game to spoil McAree’s day
LINFIELD manager David Healy has called on his players to be ready for the ‘ferocious atmosphere’ at Coleraine today and relish the occasion.
It is another massive early season match against fellow title contenders for the table-topping Blues who have already come away from Mourneview Park, Seaview and Solitude with seven points.
Victories over Glenavon and Crusaders gave Healy’s men a huge confidence lift and although they drew 1-1 at Cliftonville it was another impressive performance from Linfield in crunch encounters to date.
Next up is a trip to the Coleraine Showgrounds where Rodney McAree will take charge of the Bannsiders for the first time having left the manager’s hotseat at Dungannon Swifts.
Healy has great respect for McAree but insists that his players must focus on themselves rather than be distracted by his opposite number’s home bow as Oran Kearney’s replacement.
“With Rodney going in as manager I’m sure it is a game he is looking forward to,” says Northern Ireland’s record goalscorer.
“He’ll get a warm welcome from the fans with it being his first home match but all we will be concerned about is going to the Showgrounds and making sure we do our job properly.
“There will be good players on show, I think it will be a good game and a good spectacle.”
The last team to beat Coleraine in a domestic fixture was Healy’s Linfield — way back in November 2017 in a league outing at Windsor Park.
Asked about that fact with a deadpan delivery, the Blues boss said: “Hopefully we’ll be the next team to beat them.” He added: “We have beaten them before but then again they have beaten us. All we are concerned with is Saturday’s game.
“In our dressing room there are three or four new players who haven’t played in Coleraine v Linfield games.
I know from my experience going to the Showgrounds there will be a big crowd and there will be a ferocious atmosphere coming from both sets of supporters so it’s a fixture that our players must make sure they are ready for and they relish.
“It’s probably a little bit like when we played Crusaders at Seaview. We’ve also been at Mourneview Park to face Glenavon and Solitude to take on Cliftonville so we have had a lot of big away games in the opening period.
“It will be another really good test for us because Coleraine are a very good side and we need to make sure we are as solid as we have been at Solitude, Seaview and Mourneview.”
Three of Healy’s star turns this season — new signings Joel Cooper (above), Daniel Kearns and Michael O’Connor — did not feature for the Blues in their 2-1 midweek win over PSNI when Mark Stafford and Jimmy Callacher netted headers from corners to record an unconvincing success.
“Joel has given us a spark, as have Daniel and Michael. It’s important that when new players come in they do that. They have also given us energy,” said Healy.
“It was good to score a couple of goals against PSNI from set pieces. It’s about time we started scoring again from set plays.”
Linfield are five points clear of Coleraine having played a game more. The incentive for the Blues is to go eight ahead while the Bannsiders know victory at home and again on Tuesday versus Ballymena would see them leap above Healy’s men.