Bringing Kieran Offord to January is proving to be the correct call, beams Linfield boss David Healy

After starring on loan for Crusaders during the first part of last season, Linfield agreed a fee with St Mirren for Offord’s services to make a permanent move to the Irish League back in January.

Offord had to be patient in terms of opportunities in his first few months at Windsor Park but he has certainly hit the ground running this season as he has already netted seven times in all competitions for Healy’s men this term.

The latest was a stunning effort in Sunday’s home win against Cliftonville as Offord’s first-half strike edged out the Reds at Windsor Park.

"Kieran's making a habit of where I don't think there's any caressing with his finishing," Healy told Linfield's social media platforms.

"It's brute force, it's brute power...Kieran's still learning and he's still developing.

"But one thing he has done, and again, we were asked in January was it necessary to bring him and Callumn (Morrison) in

"But I think certainly Kieran at the minute and Callumn hopefully in time will prove to be smart additions.

"We wanted to get them in and familiarise with playing for Linfield because playing for Linfield can be a challenge.

"He had three or four months where he played his part and he scored a few important goals last season.

"He scored the winner down at the Railway End against Larne but he didn't play as many games because there were others who were maybe slightly ahead of him at that time.

"I think it's proved wise, he's had that time, he's had a pre-season and it looks like he's come back in good condition.

"Once he develops and tidies up some of his other little bits...he has proven with the goal scoring ability he has, he's going to be a good player for us."

Healy remarked how the club are eager to keep playing league games despite their European exploits.

Sunday’s victory was only their second Premiership assignment of the campaign after games against Ballymena United and Carrick Rangers had to be postponed.

However, attention is now firmly set on Thursday night’s crunch second-leg against Shelbourne as the Blues aim to recover from a 3-1 deficit against their League of Ireland counterparts.

He stated: "There was probably a lot of talk heading into the game that the game was maybe not going to be played...sort of bypass the game and maybe move on to Thursday night.

"But you seen with what Larne did last year...they played catch up which probably caught up eventually.

"It’s important that we try and play as many games as we can.

"I have full trust and belief in the squad of players that we have.

"I thought our performance levels were good and to get a clean sheet...I think they emptied the bench and put four or five forwards on at the end.

"There were one or two hairy moments but I don’t think Chris Johns was overly-stretched.”