On the bounce

Jim Magilton has credited his players for bouncing back from adversity this season – and says such mentality will be vital for tomorrow’s Sports Direct Premiership clash with Dungannon Swifts.

Though the Reds travel to Stangmore Park off the back of three consecutive victories, Magilton is well aware that his team’s current winning run was sparked by a BetMcLean Cup defeat against the Swifts, and he is determined that it won’t end at the hands of the same opponents.

“Our performance levels have been fantastic,” he reflected.

“We’ve dipped very few times this year but when we have, we’ve always bounced back.

“We’re going to have to play very well at Dungannon. In the League Cup, we didn’t play as well as we can whereas Dungannon played very well and beat us. They’ll have good memories of that and we have not so good memories, so we’ve got to go there, present ourselves and try and continue this good run.

“We have to keep winning but, more importantly, it’s our level of performance that we have to continue to grow and create that sort of atmosphere within our dressing room. From day one, that’s what the key message has been, that hasn’t changed and we’ve been very consistent in what we’ve said to them.

“It’s also about their individual performance, then the team performance. If you control your own performance and go out there with that focus, then if we can do that collectively, you’re going to be in business.”

Dungannon Swifts v Cliftonville
Cash turnstiles
Adults: £13
Concessions: £9