Ards boss Niall Currie wants his underdogs to deliver

The Championship One side not only have the task of stopping Cliftonville from writing their own little chapter in the history of the tournament - they are only one game away from becoming the first side to lift the trophy on four successive occasions - but they will have to do it on the Reds’ home patch at Solitude.

Currie, however, is hoping to turn all the negatives into positives when his team walk out in front of a sell out crowd at the North Belfast on Saturday evening (5.30pm).

“I don’t feel any cup final should be at a team’s home ground,” said Currie. “It hands Cliftonville the initiative as they will be hot favourites on their home pitch.

“I’m not blaming them for one minute . . . it’s not their fault, but I am disappointed about having to play at Solitude.

“Every cup final should be at a neutral venue and I’m not in the minority there.

“Whoever took the decision not to have the final at Windsor Park should be disappointed more than anyone else.

“Whenever you’re building a National Stadium you’ve got to promote things properly.

“If it is down to charging people money they don’t have, then they need to look at that. This is supposed to be a stadium for the entire country.

“I don’t know who is in charge of this decision but they need to have a long, hard think.

“I’ve been involved in junior cup finals with Loughgall, who had home advantage. I would have preferred to go to the likes of Dungannon because I just didn’t think is was fair.

“We all love going to watch Northern Ireland games and I think they (the decision makers) have to give something back to the Irish League teams.

“That goes for all cup finals; why not give the Amateur League clubs a day out at the biggest and best stadium, too. That’s what it is there for. Use it.”

Currie, however, will urge his team to grasp the opportunity as they have they have the chance to win their first senior trophy since defeating the Reds in the League Cup final back in 1995, under Roy Coyle -- following a penalty shoot-out.

“I have a lot of faith in my players,” he added. “We are all looking forward to it . . . everyone is good to go, we have a full squad.

“The final has been in everyone’s head since the win over Coleraine in the semi final, so the sooner we get it on the better.

“We plan to enjoy the occasion . . . we’ll give it a real good go. We are heavily involved in league commitments, so this is a welcome distraction. It’s a day for the players. They have got us to the final . . . I’ll tell them to enjoy the occasion.”