Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LET’S TURN THE CRUES
Gray: Baxter’s boys are hurting and we intend to pile on the misery today
CLIFTONVILLE boss Barry Gray is bracing himself for a blood and thunder backlash from Crusaders in today’s North Belfast derby at Solitude.
Stephen Baxter’s men are eager to hit back following last Saturday’s disjointed 2-1 defeat to high flying Coleraine at Seaview.
Afterwards Baxter slammed his players, branding the display “clueless” and claimed some of his stars had “swanned about like prima donnas”.
Gray knows the Crues will be quick out of the traps today, but insists his own players also have a point to prove after an inconsistent start to the campaign.
The Reds hammered Ards 6-3 on the opening day, but have since lost 2-0 to Coleraine and drew 1-1 with Ballinamallard United last Saturday.
Gray said: “Both teams will be looking a reaction. What reaction will Stephen get from his players after last week and what reaction will I get from my players?
“When it comes to a derby it is often a 50/50 fixture and they’re hard to call until you’re into the game and that’s what makes them special.
“Stephen had a pop at his players last week, although I do wonder if it was because he was really annoyed or if it was the start of his build-up to this game.
“Whether it was one or the other, it doesn’t really matter. We’ll have to produce the best of what we’ve produced so far this season over the 90 minutes.
“We’re under no illusions about that, but if we’re serious about doing anything this season, you have to aim to win games like this.”
On Cliftonville’s season to date, Gray believes it should come as “no surprise” the Solitude men have been pawing for consistency early doors.
He said: “You’d like things all your own way but this is a new management team with new players and a new style of play. It’s very much a work in progress.
“The boys have been top class. We had an extended pre-season and they have been working really hard in terms of what I want to see from them.
“The positive thing is we are going in the right direction and hopefully we can string some wins together and kick on.”
Gray hopes the Reds, who spurned several gilt edged chances to beat Ballinamallard last weekend, show more of a cutting edge moving forward.
He said: “We have some defensive issues to deal with and while everyone talks about our attacking options, we know we can improve.
“No disrespect to Ballinamallard, but we had several chances to win the game and if one of those goes in, it would have been a very different outcome.”
Cliftonville defender Garry Breen (hamstring) is a doubt while Crusaders are hopeful captain Colin Coates is available after sitting out the Coleraine loss with an injury.