PADDY McLaughlin believes that Mick McDermott has assembled one of the best squads in the Irish League and is relishing coming up against it at the weekend.
Glentoran make the trip across the city to Solitude (3pm kick-off) on Saturday looking to make it back-to-back league victories.
However, they face an in-form Cliftonville side that are setting the pace early doors following Tuesday evening’s slender 2-1 victory over Coleraine.
Reds boss Paddy McLaughlin predicts that a brilliant game lies in store on Saturday and is looking forward to the challenge of taking on a side that is amongst the favourites to the land the Gibson Cup at the end of the season.
“It’s going to a brilliant match,” McLaughlin predicts.
“They’re a fantastic team and Mick has done a brilliant job in assembling one of the best squads that the Irish League has seen in a long time.
“They’re going to be up there challenging Linfield for the title and why not the rest of us give it our best shot and see where it takes us?
“It’s going to be a hell of a challenge for us but on that form there tonight, if we can play like that and move the ball as quickly as we did and create the chances that we did, we’ve every chance of beating anybody.”
PADDY McLaughlin believes Glentoran will be a front-runner for the league title this season
McLaughlin was delighted to see his side make it back-to-back victories following Tuesday evening’s win, but warned it is too early in the side to get carried away with things.
“Six points out of six is a brilliant start for us,” he reflected.
“We’ve a lot of tough games right throughout the season and this was another one of them. We’ll enjoy it but we’ve a tough game on Saturday coming up again, so we won’t get too complacent or too carried away with ourselves. It’s a brilliant start for us, but it’s only the start.
“It will be difficult to maintain that standard, but the surface is brilliant for us and I can’t thank the club enough for investing heavily on the playing surface.
“You see other clubs investing in the playing staff, we’ve invested on the playing surface and we’re seeing the benefits of it already because some of the football we’ve been playing over pre-season has been fantastic. I’m sure the fans will enjoy what they see.”
Joe Gormley got off the mark for the season with the opener and McLaughlin is pleased the striker was keen to remain at Solitude amid interest from Larne and other suitors.
“Joe has had a couple of injuries over the summer period and he was frustrated with not playing on Saturday,” McLaughlin revealed.
“We understood that, but when he’s on the pitch and he’s fully fit - which he showed tonight - there is no better man for the job of scoring goals.
“The rumours were hanging around for a couple of weeks about clubs being interested in him and rightly so because he is one of the top marksmen in the division. But we’re delighted that he wanted to stay where he was. The fans love him here at the club and the players love him.
“Getting him back on the pitch was important as he does what he does best. With McDonagh playing to the side of him and delivering some unbelievable crosses into the box, Joe will hopefully have a brilliant season for us, like he always does.”
McLaughlin believes that consistency is the key to competing with the full-time clubs this season and is embracing the challenge of doing that.
“There are good sides outside of the full-time squads,” McLaughlin feels.
“I’ve heard everybody say that the full-time status is going to make that big a difference. It will over the course of the season, but if you can maintain those high standards, I think we are more than capable of competing against any of the full-time teams.
“It will be difficult, but it is part of the challenge. If we go full-time, it won’t change anything - you have to work hard. It’s a case of embracing the challenge and giving it everything.”
Gormley was on target in the 2-1 win over Coleraine on Tuesday
Following the closing of the summer transfer window, McLaughlin was keen to pay tribute to outgoing chairman Gerard Lawlor and the Cliftonville board.
“It’s been a good window and I can’t thank Gerard and the club for helping me and backing me,” he said.
“We attracted some of the best young talent in the country: Gallagher and McDonagh were two massive signings for us. Even in the January window, we signed well. Young McNicholas is a fantastic prospect coming from Sligo and big Jonny Addis has been absolutely tremendous for us.
“He’s just so calm an influence on the back four when he plays and such a good, technically gifted footballer as well.
“Thankfully the club has turned down bids for one or two players during the week and fair play to them. They’ve backed me well; we appreciate the work they put in and hopefully now we’re starting to pay them back.”
The Reds’ boss is also delighted to see the return of supporters in numbers and admits they’ve played a massive part in their opening two wins.
“It’s brilliant to see supporters return,” he added.
“They add a massive part to our game and over the last two games they’ve got us over the line.
“They cheer when we score, they cheer when there is a big tackle – we’ve missed it badly and its great to see them back.
“When they’re in full voice, they make Solitude an intimidating place to come. Hopefully they keep backing us up because they’ve been super so far.”
