Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IN on the new generation of HALES to arrive at Seaview years after er Danny lit dson Rory unfinished chetmen
tease his imagination. “The League of Ireland is a good stepping stone as well, but I’ve seen over the last few seasons the Irish League gets more coverage and is talked about a lot more and you see that with Gavin and Sykesy,” said Hale, who came close to signing for the Crues last year before opting for the Brandywell.
“So if you are performing week in, week out in this league, you are going to get noticed. They have and they are an inspiration to other young players coming through and hopefully it will happen to me and my brother again.
“I wish Gavin and Mark all the best, they are two good players and I’m sure they will do well over in England.
“But for me, I had my first taste of silverware last year with Derry and hopefully I can collect more at Crusaders and win as many trophies as possible, play as many games as possible, and if a move to England comes across, it comes across.
“But at the minute, I’m just looking forward to getting stuck in and playing every week and hopefully winning trophies here.”
Friday night’s victory for Crusaders at Newry, courtesy of David Cushley, moved the Gibson Cup holders momentarily level on points with league leaders Linfield ahead of this weekend’s crunch top-of-the-table clash at Seaview.
And Hale reckons his club have the edge over the Blues and the rest of the title contenders, purely by dint of the embarrassment of riches Baxter has at his disposal.
“The Crues have the best squad in the league by a mile and with the signings we have made in January, we’ve only improved,” he said.
“We usually do start off slow but we are picking up the pace now and are only three points behind Linfield so I think we have a great chance to go for everything that is in front of us.
“I know we have a tough draw in the Irish Cup and a bit to do in the league but it is there for us and I think we just have to take one game at a time and see what happens from then, but I’ll be fully expecting to go for every trophy.”
And he’ll have a certain club hero on the sidelines rooting for him and Ronan all the way.
“I will be down watching them,” said grandfather Danny. “The Crues, I’ve always had a soft touch for them, they’ve a place in my heart. I love Crusaders, I have to admit, and it’s so handy for me, just down the street.”