FOOTBALL: Plenty more to come from Blues says Healy

The former Northern Ireland striker couldn’t hide his delight after watching Andy Waterworth bag a glorious double before big Mark Stafford headed his fourth goal of the season to guarantee the Blues three priceless points against relegation haunted Carrick Rangers at Windsor Park.

But Healy warned: “I still think there is more in this team . . . and I think there is more in these players. It’s up to me to get it out of them. I keep asking them, can we do better?

“I keep asking the players for a wee bit more because I think there is still more left in the tank. I still firmly believe we are are in this title race and I’m sure Gerard Lyttle is saying the same thing at Cliftonville. It’s down to us to keep performing and keep picking up points.”

After bagging an impressive 14 goals in their last three games, Healy realises the fans’ expectation levels are now soaring.

He added: “We have been scoring lots of goals of late. The crowd wants us to score every time we go forward.

“But we had to be patient against Carrick. They have earned the right to be in this position - they have picked up a few draws recently and had a good win over Coleraine, so we had to give them our respect. We simply can’t go out to steam roll teams.”

“Keeping a clean sheet was also pleasing. The players work hard throughout the week on their defensive side of the game. We were organised. The middle three are also putting in a good shift. It’s 14 goals in three games, so that is pleasing.

“It’s only the half way mark in the season. There is a lot to play for. We’ve had a few little slip ups, but we’ve only lost to one team this season in the league.”

Although the Blues inched that little bit closer to Crusaders, Healy admits it is nothing more that a little bonus.

“We are not influenced by other teams’ results. We look after ourselves,” added Healy.