Donegal Celtic gaffer Pat McAllister insists the ‘underdog’ tag will rest easily on the shoulders of his team when they travel across town to take on Premier League table toppers Cliftonville at Solitude on Saturday.
The Reds have been on fire and they will wrap the red ribbons around the Gibson Cup – for the first time since 1998 – sooner rather than later.
But McAllister is determined to delay the celebrations.
“Cliftonville are the biggest show in town at the moment and we will be massive underdogs,” he said.
“Nobody will expect us to take anything from the game, but we’ll relish the challenge. We have to go there confident of getting a positive result. There’s no reason why we can’t achieve that.
“We lost 2-0 in the Irish Cup recently at Solitude, but it was nip and tuck for 80 minutes before we conceded two late goals.”
Celtic midfielder Sean Cleary is suspended for the game after picking up a red card in last week’s 2-2 draw at Ballymena United.
“It’s a blow losing Sean, but we’ve got to get on with it. I’ve been seeing character and spirit in abundance,” said McAllister, whose team are six points clear of basement club Distillery.
“They have two games in hand, but I’d rather have the points. We have eight games left and we want to secure as many points as possible.
“My only focus is on picking up enough points to keep Donegal Celtic in this division.”
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