N talks to Ballymena United striker JOHNNY MCMURRAY

to get is top six to have a chance of Europe and with three or four months of football, it’s not that far off.

“But the season has been a bit strange, and me being off two months didn’t help either. I wasn’t able to play and the team has changed and different people have come in.” On a personal front, despite his heroics last season, Mcmurray feels he still has something to prove after failing to make the grade at Cliftonville.

He spent five frustrating years at the Reds, finding himself down the pecking order behind the likes of Liam Boyce, Rory Donnelly and Joe Gormley, before his career was reborn at Ballymena via a successful loan stint at Warrenpoint.

“I didn’t play much at Cliftonville, I was there for a few years and played a few cup games, and then had halfa-season at Warrenpoint and then a full season at Ballymena and did really well so that was really my first full season and a really good season,” he said.

“And yes, I do feel like I still have to prove myself. Davy didn’t want me thinking the way I was thinking but because of the way it went for me at Cliftonville, with people saying I was going to do really well there and then I never got the chance, I just wanted to go out and prove something.

“Before we played them last season, Davy said to me, ‘You don’t have to prove anything,’ but in your own head you do – realistically you are always going to think that way.”

GOAL MACHINE Johnny was at the Reds with Liam Boyce EURO CLASH In action against Odds BK from Norway in this season’s Europa League COLE PLAY Mcmurray in action for Cliftonville at Coleraine in a 2015 league encounter LET’S CELEBRATE Johnny after...