CLIFTONVILLE manager Paddy McLaughlin is happy that his side have had a full week to prepare for this weekend’s Samuel Gelston’s Irish Cup, Round Two clash at Carrick Rangers.

The Reds make the trip to the Belfast Loughshore Arena on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off) looking to progress to the last eight, but face a tricky task against Stuart King’s Rangers.

McLaughlin’s side will have eight days to prepare for the clash since Friday evening’s 2-2 draw with Ballymena and he hopes his side will have learnt lessons from their disappointing late collapse at the Showgrounds.

“We’ve got a full week to prepare for the Carrick game and a full week to prepare for what we’ll face and learn from the mistakes that we’re making,” said McLaughlin.

“We can’t keep making them (mistakes) and taking about I t- we’ve got to learn lessons very quickly. It will be a tough game: it’s a tough place to go, they’re very good at home and hard working and honest.

“It will be a difficult place to go, but we’ll dust ourselves down and get our heads up. It isn’t the end of the world that we drew against Ballymena. It’s two points dropped but that’s it as far as it goes.

“There are plenty of more points to be won and lost and I’m sure that will happen for all clubs at the top end- not just us.”

Saturday’s clash is the first of a double-header between the sides with a league meeting on Tuesday evening (7.45pm kick-off) at the Loughshore Arena.

McLaughlin acknowledges it is strange to face the same opposition twice a couple of days apart, but insists he will concentrate on one game at a time.

“It’s strange and it was the same as Larne and the same with Linfield,” he believes.

“It’s tough whenever you’re playing the same team twice in a week or twice within a couple of days of each other. We’ll take the cup game first and we’ll concentrate on that and that only.

“There is no need to think about the league points whenever we’ve got a cup game to play. It sets it up and it could be a good tie. I’m sure it will be a typical cup tie and I’m sure it will be end to end at times - we look forward to it."

Reflecting upon his sides late collapse at Ballymena on Friday, McLaughlin felt his side lost concentration and has called on them to knuckle down and learn from their errors.

“We were probably thinking about the final whistle, rather than the last four or five minutes and it came back to bite us,” McLaughlin admits.

“We’ve got to learn to just knuckle down and see out games and baton down the hatches when pressure comes our way because I think that’s a couple of goals we’ve conceded were we shouldn’t be.

“There was no real danger in the build-up to any of the two of them. There is no wave of attack – it’s just a couple of hopeful balls into the box and we didn’t deal with them. We’ll deal with it and learn from it, and we’ll come back stronger. They’re going to have to learn from that.

“We’ve been here a couple of times and it’s my job to force that message through that wee bit more firmer I suppose because we can’t keep talking about it and tiptoeing around it. We concede too many soft goals.

“As a team we’ve top quality right throughout the pitch and on the bench and in the squad. We’ve got so much talent and it’s criminal that we’re conceding and dropping points the way we are.

“We’ve got to learn quickly because it is frustrating, I’m sure for the fans, but it’s definitely frustrating for the players for all their hard work and they’re only coming away with a point tonight”.

Cliftonville didn't manage to entice Ronan Hale to Solitude
2Gallery

Cliftonville didn't manage to entice Ronan Hale to Solitude

The Reds had to admit defeat in their big to lure Ronan Hale to Solitude at the end of the transfer window with the striker staying at Larne instead of linking up with brother Rory.
They did land midfielder Mark Gallagher on-loan from Aberdeen and he could be in line to make his debut at the weekend.

Speaking on the league’s transfer activity, McLaughlin believes it is unfair that clubs are demanding inflated fees for players and is adamant that Cliftonville won’t throw excessive money about.

“It’s madness, obviously when one player goes for a big fee, everybody wants a big fee and it’s not fair on the other clubs or the other the players that are trying to be signed,” he insists.

“If that’s what people want to spend, so be it, but I don’t think everybody else has to spend the same whenever they’re looking to sign a player.

“It looks like that’s what clubs and players want: the big fee and the big wages. If they get elsewhere fair play to them, but we won’t be in the position to throw money about the way some clubs are.”
 
Irish Cup, Round two fixtures
Friday (7.45pm kick-offs)
Larne v Linfield
Newry City AFC v Ards
 
Saturday (3pm unless stated)
Ballinamallard United v Crusaders
Ballymena United v Portstewart
Carrick Rangers v Cliftonville
Coleraine v Portadown
Dungannon Swifts v Annagh United
Queen's v Glentoran (1.30pm)