Linfield players delivered under the pressure to land historic 57th league crown, says chairman Roy McGivern
Linfield chairman Roy McGivern has summed up the Blues' latest title success as a mixture of "relief and great pride" as the Gibson Cup is set to reside at Windsor Park for the 57th time in the club's history.
Glentoran's failure to beat Larne on Tuesday night means Linfield can't be caught as they are a remarkable 19 points clear at the summit with six games to play.
The Blues have had to watch Larne lift the trophy in the last two years but there was no such heartache this time around as David Healy's men romped to the title.
"It is a relief and great pride to be crowned league champions for the 57th time, even though we didn't kick a ball on Tuesday night," McGivern said.
"We hadn’t won the league in the last two years so there was a huge expectation on us to do it this time around, which obviously increased the pressure.
"But the players and management staff have dealt with it excellently and to win the league with six games to go is remarkable. It shows you how consistent we have been this season and a huge credit must go to everyone both on and off the pitch.”
McGivern paid special praise to boss David Healy for landing his sixth league title as Blues boss in a season which was emotional for everyone connected at the club.
He explained: “David has been here nearly 10 years and this is his sixth league title, so he gets the club and understands the expectations here.
"There were rumours that he might move on earlier in the season but he’s committed here and has managed to land another league title when the competition has never been greater.
"We lost quite a lot of people close to the club this season such as Paul Butler, Michael Newberry and Andy Kerr, so we’ve had to deal with those painful challenges along the way."
Despite basking in their latest success, McGivern knows that the club will have the exact same demands put on them next season.
“The club will and should enjoy this title triumph,” he added.
"We won’t let off in the last six games of the season. You can’t afford to stand still at Linfield and before you know it, we will be in preparing for Europe."