Forget Celtic or we’ll miss out
David fears Euro dream will die in San Marino if they take eye of ball
DAVID HEALY has told his Linfield players to forget about a potential Champions League blockbuster with Celtic and focus on earning the right to face the Hoops.
The former Rangers striker is so determined to take one match at a time that he has stopped his team from talking to the media about a secondround qualifier with the Glasgow giants.
Healy wants to show San Marino opponents SP La Fiorita respect, insisting minds won’t be allowed to wander in the Linfield dressing room about the prospect of playing at Parkhead in the next round.
He said: “The incentive is there for the club to progress into the second round of the Champions League.
“That’s what we are thinking about. As a manager and players we can’t afford to think about who we could play in the second round because we have a massive tie in the Champions League to play first. That’s our focus. Our only focus.”
Linfield will host SP La Fiorita next Wednesday, with the return leg on July 4, and the prize on offer is a clash against Brendan Rodgers’ Invincibles.
The Celtic boss and Northern Ireland’s record goalscorer have a warm relationship. In a recent interview with Record Sport, Healy told how Rodgers was an inspiration behind his desire to become a manager.
And he hasn’t done too badly since. While Rodgers won a domestic Treble in his first season in charge of Celtic, it was the same for Healy at Linfield with the Blues claiming the league title, Irish Cup and County Antrim Shield.
While suggesting ahead of the draw that he would be content to avoid Celtic, once the pairings came out yesterday he made it clear that conversations about taking on the Scottish champions were off-limits.
He was only willing to discuss the upcoming Champions League game, rather than one that may or may not happen in the future.
Healy said: “Out of the possible draws that we could have ended up with this gives us an opportunity to advance.
“By no means is it going to be an easy game where we think we’ll sail through. We will be very professional about this and treat them with respect.”
Quizzed on becoming a Champions League boss so early in his managerial career, the 37-year-old said: “It is a great opportunity for the players, myself and the rest of the staff.
“The players proved last season that they could deal with intense matches, whereas the season before there were doubts and a lot of questions asked.
“We showed that in the run-in last season when the Treble was on the line for the club.”