CLIFTONVILLE boss Jim Magilton insists that Tuesday evening’s County Antrim Shield quarter-final with Ballymena United is a massive game as they hope to find an elusive victory that will lift the confidence of his side.

Table-topping Ballymena make the trip to Solitude (7.45pm kick-off) looking to inflict a second defeat on the Reds in a matter of weeks.

The loss at the Showgrounds on September 21 has sparked a run of three successive league defeats and Magilton has shouldered the blame for their poor run of late and acknowledged their below-par showings.

“Tuesday night is a massive game for us,” he admits.

“Our fans come in their bus loads to see us play and they want to be entertained. We have been putting on a particularly drab show at the moment.

“Cliftonville fans will stay with the lads if they show a real guts and determination to try and get a result. I have to take responsibility for that because I set the team up and they are my players and ultimately, we’re just not playing well.”

Magilton doesn’t feel his side are playing with enough aggression in comparison to last season and has called for character-building from within the dressing room. 

“We were winning last year and everything was free-flowing, and everybody wanted the ball,” he recalled.

“Now it is even more important that they continue to want the ball and play with more determination to keep the ball out of the net. That the game in a nutshell and we’re not playing with enough aggression with and without the ball.

“It’s easy when you’re win, everybody wants the ball when you’re winning. This is a character-building exercise now and the dressing room have to sort that out. We can vent and show frustration as we do, but we still have to get a reaction from the players and Tuesday night becomes massively important to us.”

The Reds will be without Sean Stewart and Shea Kearney due to international commitments and Magilton is expecting Rory Donnelly to return from injury that kept him out of the weekends defeat to Carrick Rangers.

“We’ll have a body count,” Magilton revealed.

“We left Rory [Donnelly] out today [Saturday] - we’ll have a look at him and hopefully he will be okay for Tuesday night. We have more longer term to be fair. Shea Kearney failed a fitness test, and he is away with the U21s with Sean Stewart.

“It’s weathering the storm and getting through it and the only way you do it is rolling your sleeves up and show determination to do it.”

Tuesday's other quarter-finals include a landlord vs Tennant clash as Larne and Newington meet at Inver Park. They met in last season's Irish Cup with the Premiership champions climbing a 4-1 win.

The remaining quarter-finals see Crusaders host Linfield and Glentoran welcome Carrick Rangers to The Oval.