Latest News

It’s all in the works: McLaughlin

Paddy McLaughlin repeats a familiar mantra as Cliftonville prepare for tonight’s Europa League Preliminary Round first leg with Barry Town United.

The boss believes that hard work is the key to the Reds’ chances of progression from a tie he expects to be closely fought.

“From the moment the draw was made, we knew there wasn’t likely to be too much between us and that both games would be very competitive,” says McLaughlin.

“We’ve done what we can to find out as much about them as possible and I’m sure they’ve been doing the same to see what they can learn about us. I don’t see any team racing ahead of the other in the first leg, I think it’ll be tight but I’m happy we’re away from home first.

“We have a good record at Solitude and it would be great to bring the tie back home and try to get the job done in front of our own fans – but that’s next week, first and foremost we need to work as hard as we possibly can in this first leg.

“We worked hard to get into Europe and, now that we’re here, we want to do well – it’s not about making up the numbers.”

“These players have never been shy about working hard. They’ve done it from the minute I came in the door and we’ll need more of the same against Barry. If they work hard and do their jobs, hopefully they will get their rewards for that.”

Supporters unable to attend tonight’s match are advised that live coverage from Leckwith Stadium will be broadcast on S4 Clic (registration required) and the Sgorio Facebook page.