Jeffrey hails ‘True Blue’ Gault ahead of big milestone
Linfield's Michael Gault
DAVID Jeffrey has described Michael Gault as a ‘True Blue’ as the midfielder closes in on his 400th appearance for the club.
Gault is in line to reach the special milestone when the Blues travel to the Showgrounds to face Coleraine tonight (8pm).
The ??-year-old has come a long way since making his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Glenavon on April ?? 2002.
And for Jeffrey, Gault has become a pivotal figure in the Linfield changing room over the past decade.
“Michael Gault really is a True Blue. In terms of producing our own players, he really is one of our very own,” the Blues boss told the club’s website.
“He came through the ranks. Ironically, he started off as a central defender and full credit must go to Dennis Shields who identified other qualities in Michael.
“He played him in the middle of the park and when I went to watch him play for the Swifts, I thought this young lad had a great chance of going on to make a name for himself.
“He broke into the first team squad and when you think of the age he is, the number of games he’s played and the number of medals he’s won, he’s had an exceptional career to date.”
Gault was named club captain following the retirement of Noel Bailie at the end of last season.
And Jeffrey believes the former Northern Ireland international leads the club with “great integrity”.
He added: “He’s a man of immense character, someone who you can always rely on and a man who is so self-critical because he always wants to meet the highest standards possible.
“What he has achieved thus far and what he has given the club is remarkable and incredible. He’s a generous, kind, loving and caring man and an absolutely immense footballer.
“I remember in his younger days, I nicknamed him the ‘White Vieira’. He’s now an older version who has talent to burn and long may he continue to play at the high level he’s playing at.”
Reflecting on Gault’s debut 10 years ago, Jeffrey said: “I remember it well as we had won the league and were preparing for a cup final with Portadown.
“We put out a team that included a number of youngsters. Alongside Michael that day and also making his debut was none other than Peter Thompson.
“So who says that Linfield don’t breed their own? You think of Peter and Michael both making their debuts on the same day and both going on to create fabulous Linfield careers.
“In the next week we can celebrate Michael’s 400th game, just as recently we celebrated Peter’s 200th goal. As a footnote to any young players reading this, this is the club to be at, if you want to achieve success and certainly, I consider Peter and Michael to be absolutely perfect role models and examples to any young players starting out in the game.”
Looking ahead to tonight’s crunch Premiership clash with Coleraine, Jeffrey said: “I watched Coleraine in Saturday’s League Cup final.
“Oran Kearney has done a remarkable job and they are riding high this season.
“We know how tough a test it will be. But we have to be prepared for what is a tough month ahead.
“We have Coleraine, Crusaders, Portadown and Cliftonville all coming up – massive games.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
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