Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘FIELD OF DREAMS
Healy: This is why we play the game
LINFIELD boss David Healy will today urge his players to end a long wait for local football’s greatest prize. A point against Cliftonville will see the Big Two giants crowned champions for the first time since 2012. Champagne, ticker tape and a presentation plinth will all be on standby at Solitude, with the Blues odds on at 1/8 to lift the Gibson Cup. The stage is set and Healy is confident the Windsor Park men will deal with the fever pitch expectation. “I’ve told the players, this is why you play football, to play in big games like this,” he said. “Will it be edgy? 100 per cent, but we want to go there and finish it off right. It’s a game we should look forward to and relish. “Last year, the league was over going into the last day of the season, so this is great. “We’ve given ourselves a chance, but you never know what can happen in football. A game like this can change in a heartbeat, on a mistake, a poor decision or a wonderful finish, so we’ll need to be ready for a huge test.” Back in February, Linfield looked out of contention when they trailed Crusaders by nine points, before a run of eight straight league wins helped close the gap. Last week’s 5-1 win at Coleraine plus a 3-0 defeat for the Crues at Ballymena – their third in five games – completed a remarkable turnaround, leaving the Blues two points clear with a game to go. Add in a far superior goal difference and it is Linfield’s to lose at Solitude. “I’m very proud of the players,” said Healy. “A lot of people wrote us off earlier in the season, saying we probably weren’t good enough, but we have given ourselves a chance. “Since losing to Coleraine on January 3, we have 12 wins and a draw in the league, so we have certainly earned the right to be where we are. “We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Just because we’re two points clear, that message doesn’t change.” Cliftonville have won just one of their last 10 games but appointed former titlewinning manager Tommy Breslin (inset) on an interim basis earlier this week after Gerard Lyttle’s departure to Sligo. Healy warned: “When a new manager comes in, you always expect a bounce. “It’s also a Belfast derby and I’m sure Cliftonville won’t want Linfield winning the league title on their own patch.”