Picture of self

Barry Gray says Cliftonville must focus on themselves and their own approach to tomorrow’s Danske Bank Premiership fixture with Glentoran.

The Reds visit The Oval at the end of a week that has seen the Glens dispense with former boss Gary Haveron and confirm the interim appointment of Ronnie McFall, with Gray insisting none of those developments must be allowed to distract his players from their task as they bid to bounce back from losing to Linfield.

“We shouldn’t be worrying about anybody apart from ourselves,” he says.

“Our focus is on dealing with what we need to deal with in our own team. The opposition, we will treat with the utmost respect as we do in any game, but our priority is ourselves. What’s been going on at Glentoran is nothing to do with us and we’ve prepared for the game just like we would any other. Managerial situations elsewhere don’t do anything for me.”

Last week’s defeat to the Blues exemplified the consistency issues that have plagued Cliftonville’s season, with an insipid first-half display making way for a more intensified performance after the interval – with Gray determined to work with his squad to find a solution that can yield a strong finish to the campaign.

“We continuously talk to the players about it,” he adds.

“It’s not something I can take out of training and work on and that is the most frustrating thing because when they do it, they do it well. They’re shaped, organised, they play football in a way that suits us, look dangerous doing it and look defensively strong.

“We just need to see that more often and for 90 minutes.”

Sean Graham’s Weekend Preview