Show of force

Barry Gray expects an energised Newry City to demand a performance from Cliftonville in tomorrow’s Danske Bank Premiership clash.

The Reds make their first visit to The Showgrounds since February 2011 aiming to end a four-week wait without a win on League duty, but the Manager is well aware of how tough their task will be made by the hosts.

“We’re going into the game off the back of a good midweek win against Distillery, when we got players minutes on the pitch and scored a few goals,” explains Gray.

“We’d been frustrated for different reasons in our last few games before that, but we need to take that win with us, build on it and try to put a good run together. I’ve spoken about fine margins and us not being too far away over recent weeks and we need to kick on now and turn those margins in our favour.

“Clearly it’s not going to be an easy game and anything we get down in Newry will have to be earned. That starts with hard work and really putting a shift in. When we do that, we can see the benefits it brings us so the message for us is straightforward – go out and put in a performance. Newry will have the same attitude, though, and that’s where you want your players to stand up and really impose themselves on the game.”