Cliftonville boss wary of basement side Ballinamallard

Cliftonville manager Barry Gray admits while he might have to have one eye on Monday night's home clash with Glenavon, he knows his players will be fully focused for this evening's trip to bottom side Ballinamallard United.
Cliftonville's manager Barry GrayCliftonville's manager Barry Gray
Cliftonville's manager Barry Gray

Gray also concedes that his squad will be only too aware of how difficult a task they are going to have at Ferney Park.

“It was an important win for us last week but this is one of those games that we need to be careful with,” he insisted.

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“You are always conscious against teams like Ballinamallard, with their position at the minute and we struggled when we were down there earlier in the season and we were held to a draw, so we just need to be careful that we approach it in the right manner and give them the credit that they deserve.

“We need to concentrate on what we need to get out of it.

“We have another game against Glenavon on Monday night, so it’s a very short turn around and our priority is to try and get a win and then move onto the next one.

“We have two very different games for different reasons and I don’t think we’ll complain about the quick turnaround especially if we get our result that we need on Friday night we’ll be welcoming the game come Monday, because you’ll want another one as quick as possible.

“Both are going to be very tough games, but we are well capable of getting two wins and I’m not saying that we will, but we just need to look after ourselves and focus that we are ready going into both games.

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“There will be very little work time between the games, so all our work for Monday night will probably take place in the game on Friday night, so I’ll have my head on for both games as a manager.

“I’ll be looking to get as much preparation to keep us right for the next game, but the players won’t be thinking past Ballinamallard; myself and the staff may look ahead as we need to look at both of the games together, but the players will only focus on the next game and that’s Ballinamallard.”