Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A fight to the end at Seaview..
Crusaders v Cliftonville Seaview, 3pm
IN-FORM Crusaders forward David Cushley insists the champions won’t be downing tools in the league despite being out of title contention.
Stephen Baxter’s men, who lifted the County Antrim Shield midweek, lie 14 points off leaders Linfield with a game in hand and are eight behind second placed Ballymena.
But while the Irish Cup is now the club’s No1 priority – they face Coleraine in the semis on March 30 – Cushley is eager to end the league on a high.
Ahead of today’s North Belfast derby with Cliftonville, he said:
“Every game at this club is a must win, no matter what competition we’re in.
“Sometimes we haven’t had the rub of the green this season and other times we maybe haven’t turned up, but it’s a tough league.
“Even though the title is out of reach, we want to keep winning games.”
The Crues can guarantee European football and avoid the end of season playoffs via one of two routes – win the Irish Cup in May or finish second in the league table.
“We can’t afford to worry about what other clubs are doing,” said Cushley, who bagged two in Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over Linfield in the Shield final.
“We have to look after our own results.”