Linfield try to contain excitement
THE draw for the Champions League second qualifying round had just taken place when a message pinged into the WhatsApp group of the Linfield players.
It told them not to speak to the media about a potential mouthwatering tie against Celtic — that there was still work to do to make that dream contest a reality.
Manager David Healy (pictured), who spent 18 months as a striker at Rangers from January 2011, quickly reminded his players they had to defeat San Marino outfit La Fiorita first and show them all due respect.
Healy’s ‘one game at a time’ approach was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not in keeping with how the rest of Northern Ireland reacted to the news that Carnlough native Brendan Rodgers and his batch of Invincibles might be coming to Windsor Park.
For several hours in Belfast yesterday, the Democrat Unionist Party helping Theresa May to form a government was knocked off the top spot on the news agenda. Linfield v Celtic was No 1.
If Linfield, who have obvious allegiances with Rangers, overcome La Fiorita and set up the clash with Celtic, it will be the biggest club game ever staged in Northern Ireland.
Linfield may have reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1967, the year Celtic famously went on to win the competition, but that will be nothing on this if a match up between the respective Treble winners happens next month.
Of course, there is also the issue of security. Under UEFA rules, with Linfield drawn out first, their home tie with Celtic is scheduled for July 11/12. The latter, a day when the Orange Order hold marches all around the country, was quickly ruled out by both clubs, with July 11 the preferred option at an earlier kick-off than the standard 7.45pm.
The problem with July 11 is that bonfires are lit across Belfast that night by the Protestant community in celebration and anticipation of the marches the next day. Not surprisingly, the date has led to concern from within the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) whose resources will already be stretched that week without 18,000 football fans descending on Windsor Park in the south of the capital.
Dream tie for the players it may be, but the game does not come without its problems.
One man who is relishing it, however, is Linfield chairman Roy McGivern.
‘From a footballing point of view, bringing a team of Celtic’s calibre to Windsor Park would be a dream for us,’ he admitted. ‘It’s an exciting one for the players and our manager David Healy, who of course is an ex-Rangers player and has a good relationship with Brendan Rodgers.
‘We have players in our squad who support Celtic and we have players who support Rangers, too. We have played Rangers a few times in recent years but we have never played Celtic, which would make it extra special.’
Linfield, while wary of taking anything for granted, know they have to start preparing for the Celtic game now regardless. Already they are thinking about allocating the North Stand to the away fans, which houses 6,500. Whether Celtic are given both tiers of that stand remains to be seen but an electric atmosphere will be guaranteed.
‘We want to concentrate on the football but we have flagged it up to UEFA as a high-risk game and will work with all parties in a bid to make both occasions at Windsor Park and Parkhead memorable for all the right reasons,’ said McGivern.