Rotation policy

Paddy McLaughlin says that squad rotation will be the name of the game this season as he vowed not to “flog” any of his players throughout a gruelling campaign.

Cliftonville made five changes to their starting line-up between the first two games of their Danske Bank Premiership schedule and, ahead of tonight’s trip to tackle Ballymena United, the Manager has highlighted the importance of not over-burdening anyone.

“We played 50 games last season and we’re involved in an extra competition this year, so I’ve told the boys that nobody is going to be playing every single week, it’s just not possible,” said McLaughlin.

“Everybody will have a part to play and that’s going to mean rotation. That’s going to mean people being on the bench for a game or two just to make sure we don’t flog anybody because the last thing we want to do is burn anyone out.

“We have a good squad here and it’s important we use that as best as we can.”

Little more than a fortnight has passed since the Reds’ last visit to Warden Street but McLaughlin expects both sides to take an entirely different approach to the one adopted for Tony Kane’s Testimonial match.

“We always get it tough down at Ballymena and this time will be no different,” he added.

“We’re not prepared for anything other than a battle. Ballymena a good side who have made some quality signings over the summer, so it’s going to be a serious challenge but it’s one that we’ll look forward to, as we always do.”

Ballymena United v Cliftonville
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