Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LOOK WHAT THE WIN BLUE IN
Ballymena giftwrapped title for Linfield and Mulgrew is determined to make most of it
LINFIELD captain Jamie Mulgrew says the Blues are ready to show a killer instinct as they bid to close out a first title in five years.
Boasting a two point advantage and far superior goal difference over Crusaders, the Blues need just a point from their final fixture of the season at Cliftonville. The Crues, who have seen a nine point lead evaporate in recent weeks, need to beat Glenavon at Seaview and hope David Healy’s (above) men slip up at Solitude. With the stakes so high heading into Saturday’s league climax, Mulgrew is determined Linfield go for the jugular. “Our mindset is, we have to go there and win,” he said. “We have worked incredibly hard to get ourselves in this position and it’s important we keep going to the end and show a ruthless edge.” Mulgrew is confident Linfield, who last lifted the Gibson Cup in 2012, will cope with the change in focus having gone from chasers to champions elect with a game to go. A run of 12 wins and a draw in their last 13 league games has seen the Windsor Park men reel in the Crues who have flagged in the final strait with three defeats in their last five outings. Mulgrew insisted: “Even though we’re top now, nothing really changes for us. “We were always going to have to win the rest of our games to catch Crusaders. “In that regard, Saturday is no different. We know we need to pick up another win. “It has been too long since Linfield won major honours and that’s what we have been focused on.” Linfield jumped to top spot for the first time this season thanks to Saturday’s rampant 5-1 win over Coleraine coupled with a 3-0 defeat for the Crues at Ballymena. Mulgrew believes the fact the Blues hit back after falling a goal behind to the Bannsiders speaks volumes of the growing maturity and confidence in the squad. He said: “When we went 1-0 down at the start of the second half, I wasn’t sure how we would respond, but we reacted superbly. “After going a goal behind we showed real character, something that has been questioned of us. “Since Christmas, we have been like a new team. We have shown a real determination and become ruthless. “We took responsibility. It was important we stood up to be counted this season.”