JIM MAGILTON believes that the current schedule of fixtures has been tough on his players but insists they will regroup once more with Dungannon fast approaching this weekend.
The Reds have had to persist with three games in just six days after their clashes with Linfield, Strabane Atheltic and now the welcome of Dungannon Swifts on Saturday afternoon.
Having secured their place in the quarter final of the Bet McLean Cup with a win over Strabane Athletic on Wednesday evening, they host another Tyrone outfit in the form of Dungannon Swifts at Solitude on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
Unlike the Reds, Dungannon exited the Bet McLean Cup and were one of two major upsets on Tuesday evening with defeat at the hands of Premier Intermediate opposition Moyola Park.
Magilton is fully expecting Rodney McAree’s side to head to North Belfast intent on putting things right, but says his side will be ready for whatever threat the Swifts pose.
“It’s Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday now this week, and it is tough,” Magilton acknowledged.
Joe Gormley broke the 300 goal tally for the Reds on Wednesday evening
“We’ll regroup, we’ll have a body count and take it from there. Dungannon will use their defeat against Moyola as motivation. They played well the last couple of seasons here. We’ve just got to take care of business. We’ve got to make sure that we get everybody up and ready for the game. We will be ready for the game and it is how we present ourselves on Saturday."
Magilton admits that going down 2-0 in their last 16 victory against Strabane didn’t surprise him and stressed the importance of winning at all costs in cup competitions.
“I wasn’t surprised because I watched enough of Strabane to know that they were going to come here and present themselves, and that’s exactly what they did,” he said.
“They showed great courage, played really well, they were on the front foot and started the game really quickly. It caught us maybe by surprise. I keep saying, it is never who we play, it is how we play. How we played for passages tonight wasn’t at the level."
The Reds boss believes that cup games are for winning rather than performing well in a system.
“The competition throws up these games and they are very difficult at times. In all honesty, it is winning and getting into the hat and being in the next round.
“Like last year, if you go all the way and you win it then you look back on the games and you think, okay, it was a potential banana skin but we overcame it and managed to win the game."
Joe Gormley received the accolades from his manager for reaching the 300 milestone, though Magilton was also keen to praise Joe Sheridan and Conor Falls, who both netted their first senior goals late on.
“For Joe Gormley to score 300 goals at this club is just a remarkable achievement for a remarkable player,” Magilton beamed.
“The hardest thing in this game is to put the ball in the back of the net and to think he has done it 300 times is just an outstanding achievement, and he deserves all the accolades that is going to come his way.
“It was a really good night and that hopefully builds confidence. Conor has been robbed of opportunities, but Joe – hopefully that gets him up and running. It is all part of the learning curve, he had a few wee niggles and we brought in Callum McCay. He has gone off with an injury, we don’t know the extent of that yet.
“We’re delighted that we’ve won the game. We’re delighted to be in the hat and we move onto Saturday."
Cliftonville will welcome a Dungannon Swifts side who sit in fifth place after back-to-back wins in previous league outings. The Reds will need to be on top form to get past their Tyrone opponents with kick-off at Solitude set for Saturday at 3pm.
