Show fear at Windsor and Linfield will smell it, is Jim Magilton’s warning to his Cliftonville players as they prepare to take on the league leaders this afternoon (3pm).
The Blues are two points clear of Ballymena United with a game in hand in the Sports Direct Premiership after beating Crusaders and Loughgall recently.
The Reds have found this season to be challenging and their 2-1 win over Coleraine on Tuesday night arrested a run of four games without a win.
Cliftonville finished last season on a high by winning the Irish Cup – against Linfield – but saw an armoury of goalscorers depart when Ronan Hale, Ben Wilson and Sam Ashford among others left Solitude in the summer.
Magilton acknowledges results for his new group haven’t been what he wanted and has challenged his players to be brave in what he believes is Cliftonville’s biggest test in the league.
“Once you step over the white line, there has to be courage”, said the Reds boss.
“You can’t play with fear, good teams smell it and they exploit it.
“There is no greater test in the league than going to Windsor, especially for Cliftonville.
“It’s about resilience and character when you go there.
“It’s about handling that occasion, if you like, being able to stand up to it and be aware that we can play too.
“With players there is always a fragility, and I’ve been there myself.
“Doubts inevitably creep in because you’re overthinking, or hesitant, and when doubts creep in, things don’t happen as naturally as they do when you’ve got a flow and a rhythm and confidence is sky high.
“There are no doubts from me but when you go on that little bit of a run there’s always that distinct possibility that people start losing faith – not only in themselves but in maybe what we are trying to do.
“I haven’t got that feeling from this group, I still fully believe they are behind everything we are trying to do.
“There’s no question we’ve been well below our standards, but Tuesday night’s win was a small step.
“There’s no better place to go and show your worth than Windsor when Linfield are top of the table.
“That’s a character building exercise in itself and we’ll be ready for it. We have to be ready for it.”
Cliftonville’s last visit to South Belfast was the Irish Cup Final win over the Blues in extra time, courtesy of two goals from Hale and one from Ashford.
Magilton prefers to operate in the here and now and scoffs at the notion that the league leaders, buoyed by the goals of attacking quartet Joel Cooper (8), Matthew Fitzpatrick (4), Kirk Millar (4) and Kyle McClean (4), are not the force they once were.
“You’ve just named four lads who on their day are better than most in the league.
“People talk about them maybe not being as strong as they used to be, I don’t buy into that, I really don’t.
“They’ve got an outstanding group of players. I know they have a long injury list, but if you look at their starting eleven they’re as good as anything in the league.
“I just see a wonderful group of players who find a way of winning games of football through character, experience, resilience, all the wonderful qualities you look for in a football team.
“Linfield have this way, over many, many years, of winning games, and they continue to do that.
“They will always be the team to beat, alongside Larne now in this league.”