Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘We must learn from mistakes’
CLIFTONVILLE boss Barry Gray is hoping his players have learnt their lesson ahead of today’s league clash at Warrenpoint Town.
In their last away game the Reds were big favourites to overcome Newry City but were beaten 1-0 by Darren Mullen’s men.
With Warrenpoint having lost six league games out of six and conceded 11 goals in their previous two matches at Milltown, Gray’s side will be odds on again to come away with a victory.
Gray said: “Newry was a really bad day for us a couple of weeks ago and going to Warrenpoint is a bit like that game.
“If our boys roll in there thinking, ‘We have good players and all we need to do is show up’ then it will be a long day.
“I’m not saying the players rolled in on purpose feeling that way but top of the table clashes are easy to motivate yourself for and we can’t lose that when we are playing the so-called lower ranked teams. I think we’ve learnt that lesson with the defeat to Newry.
“You could say this is a really good time to get Warrenpoint because they are low in confidence but on the flip side you know at some point they are going to catch somebody and get a win or draw.
“I’d be confident though if we do what we need to do our quality should shine through.”
Elsewhere, champions
will be confident of returning to winning ways at home to who have yet to pick up a point on the road this season.
At the Brandywell
are the visitors in what should be an intriguing battle with
Lurgan Blues’ highly-rated midfielder Mark Sykes, who played in the famous mid-week victory over Spain for Northern Ireland’s Under-21 side, could be the key figure.