CLIFTONVILLE boss Jim Magilton is excited ahead of the domestic season kicking off this weekend.

The Irish Cup winners entertain newly promoted Portadown at Solitude on Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-off), hoping to start the campaign on a winning note, just as they did last season.

Magilton believes the first fixture carries a huge importance and is aware of the challenge that Niall Currie’s Portadown side possess.

“It’s always an exciting time of year,” he said.

“Our pre-season was largely injury free, which was a huge part of that, and the European games certainly got our focus and deservedly so. Now we face a huge task going into a league campaign.

“The first game is always important, it’s a very tough one against Portadown. They’re newly promoted and very excited to be in the league. Niall [Currie] has recruited very well with experienced players and quality players. It’s a huge challenge.”

The Reds faced the Ports on their way to Cup success last season and Magilton admits he was impressed with the job that Niall Currie has done with Shamrock Park outfit and his off-season recruitment.

“I was hugely impressed with Portadown last year,” Magilton admits.

“They’ve a charismatic manager who will put demands on them. They’ve recruited very well and they’re going to be a very good team once the season gets underway.

“We’re all a little bit nervous and we recognise what our own team can deliver, and it is about being able to deliver that. We understand that they are going to be a threat. We get them on the first game and then we will assess it game by game.

“The thing about the lads and having them away on the European game, it was a chance to speak to them and a chance for them to really focus. Albeit, we didn’t fare particularly well in terms of the result, I was happy with the concentration of the players and the application. In terms of fitness, I’m happy with where we’re at and the obviously the more games that we’re getting, it will stand us in good stead.”

Whilst Magilton acknowledges that the club have lost an abundance of talent in Ronan Hale, Ben Wilson and Sam Ashford as well as captain Chris Curran retiring, he is more than happy with his squad and their recruitment thus far.

“We’ve lost players and it’s been well documented, but I talk about players that are in the building,” he said.

“Ryan Curran is making massive strides; I talk about young Ryan Corrigan making massive strides and he is on the other end of the spectrum, but he has benefited hugely been around these players.

“Joe Gormley and Rory Donnelly back at the football club who understands the expectations of the fans, the expectations of the club and know he understands our expectations from the staff point of view.

“The other lads have settled in very well: Luke Conlon, Michael Newberry, Shaun Leppard and we secured Sean Stewart.

“I want to reassure our fans that we’re always in the market for really good players and that will go right to the wire and the deadline. If we find a player that matches what we see as improvement in our squad, then we’re going to go for it.”

The Reds’ boss insists that the aim will always further improvement after last season’s Irish Cup success and revealed that stressed the importance of focus on their own displays.

“We won’t know that until we start, the aim is to be better, and the aim is to be better every game,” Magilton insists.

“We talk a lot and focus a lot on our own performances, both as an individual and a team. We are focused on the first few games because that is important. It is important to get off to a good start if we can. Every team will have their strengths and weaknesses, it’s up to us to exploit them and then really focus on what we do.”