CLIFTONVILLE captain Rory Hale stressed that Sunday’s Bet McLean Cup Final with Glentoran is an important milestone for him.

Hale has tasted the joy of success in with the club in the 2022 decider with Coleraine, but also experienced the disappointment of losing his first final with Crusaders in 2020.

The 28-year-old captained the club in last season's Irish Cup triumph over Linfield but stood aside and let departing club captain Chris Curran and Joe Gormley lift the trophy.
However, Hale is by hopeful he will be able to lift the silverware on this occasion should Sunday's final go to plan.

“It would be brilliant and would be my first as captain of Cliftonville, so it’s really important day for me to kick on in my Cliftonville career,” he acknowledged.

“We won it here in 2022 against Coleraine and I lost it against Coleraine with Crusaders in 2020, so I'd love to get my hands on it again.”

Hale has backed the Red Army to play their part on Sunday, with the ticket allocation quickly disappearing within hours of going on sale.

“The fans will play a massive part,” he predicted.

“I said after the cup final last year in May, you couldn’t picture going out there and playing in another cup final without the whole build-up and atmosphere and the sell-out crowd. You want that everything single time now that you’re going into a cup final.

“Luckily enough, we’re coming up against Glentoran, who are one of the biggest clubs in the country and one of the biggest fans supports in the country as well, so it’s an amazing occasion to look forward to.”

Since joining the club in January 2021, Hale has played under Paddy McLaughlin and current boss Jim Magilton, with the midfielder crediting Magilton and his backroom staff for an upturn in his conditioning.

“It’s brilliant (working under Jim Magilton), I think he has taken my game up a different level over the last 18-months," admits Hale.

“Between him, ‘Skin’ [Gerard Lyttle] and Ricky McCann, they’ve probably got me from the 60-minute man that our own fans were calling me, which I didn’t like but it was true.

“I was lasting 60-65 minutes and they’ve transformed me into playing near enough 90 minutes every single game now. I’m loving it and enjoying it and I'm playing some good football along with it as well.”

Hale is hopeful that Magilton will sign a new contract, with his current deal expiring in the summer and feels he has brought a new mentality to the squad since his arrival.

“It would be brilliant; Jim has put a new mentality into the group,” he revealed.

“We’re doing well in the big games, of course there is inconsistency this season in the league but we’re not throwing all our eggs into one basket into cup finals.

“We’re wanting to just go out the next game and win as many as possible and if we can win a couple of trophies along the way, happy days.”

Hale is under no illusion that the league has been at its most competitive this season outside of runaway leaders Linfield, and isn't one for believing that full time status guarantees a high finish in the league. 

“It is very competitive, and I think a lot of teams have now got a lot better, they’ve recruited well,” he reflects.

“Dungannon and Portadown have clawed into the top six this season, but you have teams in the bottom six - Coleraine, Glenavon and Ballymena - who have recruited well as well.

“They’re still playing well and there’s still not many points between 10th and 2nd, I think it’s maybe 10-12 points, but it's just the inconsistency.

“I think Linfield have been the most consistent team, that’s why they’ve clawed away from all of us. I think the inconsistency of the teams around us, up against teams you maybe should or shouldn't beat, that's where we’ve fell short on this season.

“Linfield seem to be the team that keeps rocking and winning every single week and keep the ball rolling, but the league of course is getting a lot harder and getting a lot better.

“I don't think that just because you’re full-time that you are going to crawl up the league, it’s probably difficult with bedding in periods and we just need to keep hanging on in there.”