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Boss salutes United effort

Paddy McLaughlin hailed Cliftonville’s “fantastic” performance in last night’s Europa League Preliminary Round victory over Barry Town United.

First-half goals from Conor McMenamin and Joe Gormley set the Reds on course to an eventual 4-0 success, with Conor McDermott and Rory Donnelly also on target after the interval to complete a convincing win.

“I’m pleased for the players that their hard work has been rewarded,” said McLaughlin, whose first European home game at the helm ended in a record continental success.

“They didn’t really get much of a summer break because we had them in early to make sure we were as prepared as we could possibly be for Europe, but they’ve been great.

“You don’t get anything without hard work, be it in football or in life, and those boys put the work in to get that win, they were fantastic.

“They’re a great bunch and when you tell the players they’re only getting two weeks off and there’s not a single complaint, it shows you how proud they are to do well for this Football Club.”

The Manager made just one change from the side which was held to a goalless draw in last week’s Cardiff opener and explained that Joe Gormley’s restoration to the starting line-up was key to Cliftonville’s approach.

“We were disappointed we didn’t win the first leg but the big thing we worked on in training was getting the ball forward quickly and being on the front foot,” he added.

“We wanted to move it fast and having Joe on the pitch was important.

“It was through no fault of Aaron Harkin that he was the one who came out of the team, he didn’t deserve to be taken out, but I had to make that decision.

“Everybody played their part and everybody did well, but I think that was Joe’s best performance in my time at the Club.”

There’s precious little turnaround time before the Reds welcome Haugesund of Norway to Solitude for the first leg of their First Qualifying Round tie next Thursday, but McLaughlin acknowledges it’s a nice problem to have.

“We could be sitting here now preparing for pre-season and getting ready to have a double session on Saturday, but instead we’ll be doing everything we can to be ready for our next game,” he said.

“It’s going to be tough, there’s no doubt about that, but we want to do the best we possibly can and I know my players will put the work in.”