Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
KEEP CAM AND CARRY ON
Healy excited by talent of Palmer & says he looks every ounce a typical Blues midfielder
LINFIELD boss David Healy believes he has unearthed a gem in midfielder Cammy Palmer.
The 20-year-old former Rangers man
produced a manof-thematch performance in the Blues’ win at Portadown on Saturday – a result that helped keep Healy’s boys ahead of the chasing pack in the Danske Bank Premiership table.
With the Blues bang on course to retain the title – they face bottom side Dungannon Swifts tonight at Stangmore Park -- Northern Ireland legend Healy reckons Palmer is a player for the future.
“Cammy was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch at Portadown, he was big, strong and physical,” beamed Healy. “We probably pushed him through a bit sooner than planned due to the injuries to Jamie (Mulgrew), Kyle (Mcclean) and Stevie (Fallon). We would have bedded him in a little bit differently.
“But he looked every ounce a typical strong Linfield mid“we fielder at Shamrock
Park. His performance was top drawer. Credit to him, he has now had a run of games, he looks fit and strong. I think his performances have already suggested he is going to be a good player for us.”
Although Swifts are struggling in the basement area, Healy insists his boys can’t afford to take their foot off the gas.
He added: “We are now getting down to the nitty-gritty, with five games to go before the split.
“Dungannon made it tough for us a few weeks back at Windsor Park. Dixie (Dean Shiels) is new to the job and he is still finding his feet. At least we approach the game not having a fixture to fulfil on Tuesday past.
are in or around where we want to be in the league table, and we want to finish there. It’s now up to us to keep putting the pressure on some of the other clubs.
“We had a lot of players missing for various reasons at Portadown last week, so I thanked the boys who played. All the credit goes to them.
“That was eight games we played over the month. It was an incredible effort The wind was incredible. Fair play to the players, they dug in and came away the three points.”
Dungannon Swifts are coming off a midweek 4-0 thumping by Glenavon and new boss Dean Shiels is looking for a response against the table-toppers. He’ll be without striker Rory Patterson through suspension.
“Our squad is being tested,” said Shiels. “Part-time lads who are working all day, the games are coming too thick and too fast for us and we don’t have time to recover. Our squad is dwindling in numbers.
“I’m still learning about the squad . . . and I learnt a lot in midweek.”