Pick-up tricks

Jim Magilton says Cliftonville have no choice but to pick themselves up and go again as they prepare for this evening’s Sports Direct Premiership encounter with Glentoran at Solitude.

The Reds enter the contest on the back of a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss in Friday’s Clearer Water Irish Cup semi-final with Dungannon Swifts and, while that outcome bore remarkable similarities to last season’s Final defeat to the same opponents, so too does the subsequent fixture list, with the Reds overcoming the Glens and Coleraine in European Play-Off action over the course of the following week.

This season’s Play-Offs may be a month away but Magilton is eager for his men to approach those end-of-term duels in the best possible shape and, keen though he is for a repeat of the reaction to last year’s Irish Cup pain, he acknowledges the difficulty of such a task.

“That would obviously be nice and it would be great to do that but it’s going to be very, very tough,” he says.

“We’re going into a big test against Glentoran and we’re going to be down bodies after Friday night. That’s something we’ve had to get used to over the last few months but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

“As ever, though, opportunities are there for players to grasp when they come into the team and that’s what we’ll be looking for them to do.

“Friday night was very tough to take but there are times in football when you just need to pick yourself up and go again, and I’ve no doubt the players are determined to do that.

“You’ve got to use the pain of defeats like that and turn it into whatever positive you can.

“I couldn’t fault the players for the effort they put in on Friday and they kept going right until the very end. It was tough to take and the dressing room was very quiet afterwards, but now it’s time to go again – it’s a new week, a new match and new challenge.”

Cliftonville v Glentoran
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Tickets: General Sale
Members Tickets and Season Tickets valid