DAVID HAS YOUR BAX

Jeffrey and great pal in opposition

BY

STEPHEN BAXTER will put his longstanding friendship with David Jeffrey to one side this afternoon.

The rival managers are institutions of the Irish League given their prolific playing and managerial careers, and through that time their strong friendship has endured even as they battled it out.

“David and I go back to our playing days here at Windsor Park,” said Baxter.

“A lifelong friend off the pitch but like last year, it all goes out the window for the duration of this football match.

“He’ll be trying to beat me as much as I’ll be trying to beat him.

“We always look forward to those challenges and he’ll be the first to congratulate me as I will him whatever way it goes.

“These are big special moments in your football life and career.

“Some people never get to go to one final or play in the final but we are doing it quite a bit as we have a great cup record over the last 10 years.

“We’ve got to keep focussed, sometimes shut out the noise and concentrate on what we do and how we do it.”

Baxter is full of admiration for the job Jeffrey has done at Ballymena, and is expecting another tough afternoon against the Sky Blues.

“I think Ballymena deserve huge credit, as do we, for making another final,” he said. “You’ve got to work your way through a competition to get yourself to this showpiece game.

“Obviously Ballymena overcoming Larne who are the team of the season in the semi-final was huge and they were deserving and comfortable winners on the night.

“They’ll not be walking into this final with any inferiority complex as they’ll be saying if they can beat Larne, then they can beat anybody.

“We’re aware of the games we’ve played against them this season as there’s been very little separating us.

“You’ll look at the table and say there’s a gap in the standings but in any one-off game, league standings mean nothing and you’ve got to be prepared and ready.

“Ballymena have got a super team, they’ve got capable players and brought in new players who are big game players and match winners such as Davy McDaid and Jordan Gibson.

“They’ve got a new way of doing things this year which is different from last year, so we have to be ready for that and we will be.”