First things first for Paddy

Paddy McLaughlin says Cliftonville are looking forward to what he predicts could be an “end-to-end” battle with Carrick Rangers in tomorrow’s Samuel Gelston’s Whiskey Irish Cup second round clash.

The Reds travel to the Loughview Leisure Arena for the first of two consecutive encounters at the east Antrim venue, with McLaughlin – who took charge of the Club three years ago today – putting all thoughts of Tuesday’s Danske Bank Premiership meeting to the back of his mind as the Cup date assumes priority status.

“We’ve had a full week to prepare for the game which has been pretty unusual for us given the schedule we’ve had recently,” he explains.

“It’s a tough place to go and Carrick are very good at home. They’re hard-working and they’re honest, but we’ve dusted ourselves down from last week, got our heads up and prepared for what we know will be a difficult match.

“Obviously we’re down there again on Tuesday and it’s strange when you end up playing the same team twice within a few days of each other but the Cup game’s first, so we’re concentrating on that and that only. You can’t be thinking about League points whenever you’ve got a Cup game to play.

“It’s set up well, I’m sure it’ll be a typical Cup tie and could be end-to-end at times and we’re looking forward to it.”

Carrick Rangers v Cliftonville
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Adults: £12
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