Setting up home

Colin Coates says recent home defeats should not dent Cliftonville’s confidence about tackling anyone at Solitude.

Having previously gone more than a year with suffering a domestic loss in BT14, the Reds have fallen to reverses in all of their last three outings on home soil but, ahead of tomorrow’s Danske Bank Premiership encounter with Crusaders, Coates insists there’s nowhere he and his team-mates would rather play.

“The North Belfast Derby is a huge game and if you can manage to get a result in it, it will lift all the boys all around the changing room,” he says.

“Over the last couple of years since I’ve been at the Club, the home form has probably been the catalyst for everything that has been good about the team. We’ve had a couple of defeats at home recently, but I think our home form is good. We want to try and play at home as much as we can.

“Football is always about the next game, no matter what it is. You want to try and win that next game. Boys will be playing for shirts and playing for positions in the Play-Off game.”

You can read the full Coates interview in tomorrow’s edition of our Matchday Magazine, which will be on sale at Solitude for £3.

Carrying Declan O’Hara’s pre-match views from the Manager’s Office, The Red Eye’s 25th issue of the campaign looks at the Crues’ priorities and steps 17, 52 and 88 years down memory lane – plus plenty more besides.

Cliftonville v Crusaders
Saturday, April 22
Adults: £12
Concessions: £8
Tickets: Here
Members Tickets and Season Tickets valid

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