Chris Shields embracing the weight of expectation at Linfield after scoring in BetMcLean Cup final

The 32-year-old put in a man-of-the-match performance and settled any nerves the home fans may have had by coolly finishing a second-half penalty which put David Healy’s men 2-0 up against Coleraine.

They went on to comfortably see out the game and Shields hopes the weekend success can help spur the Windsor Park outfit on to chase down Danske Bank Premiership leaders Larne as they go in search of a fifth consecutive league crown.

"You see the demands put on the club by the fans, people internally in the club,” he said.

"When I was winning things at Dundalk we created that success out of nothing so it was all on ourselves and there was a leeway, but I knew coming to Linfield that the demand for success was high.

"It was nice to get our hands on some silverware and hopefully this can spur us on going into the last seven games of the season and what is going to be a huge split.

"I've experienced it first hand. In my first season last year there was a week where we got put out of the League Cup and lost to Crusaders on the Friday and there were people calling for David's head probably, which is unbeknown to me!

"I've followed the league closely for a long time and David is a top manager.

"I've watched this core group hunt down a 12-point gap on Crusaders in 2017 so when people ask if this will spur you on for the league, you have to draw on boys' experience of what they did a few years ago and say it's not over until it's over."

Having lost on penalties in the Europa Conference League, Scottish Challenge Cup, County Antrim Shield and Irish Cup, Shields admitted there was a bit of extra pressure on Linfield going into the decider to avoid “a season of nearly”.

"There was a bit of pressure because it could easily have become a season of nearly had we not won,” he added.

"There was Europe in August, all of a sudden there's the league campaign that hasn't gone swimmingly, penalties in the County Antrim Shield, penalties in the Irish Cup and had this drawn on longer staying 0-0 you might have thought is this going to happen again?

"I thought we came to the fore and really showed our intent. We have picked up better form and it was one you really wanted to win.

"From the outside in, others are always wanting Linfield to fall at the final hurdle and we had to make sure it didn't happen."

The BetMcLean Cup triumph marks a 19th major honour for Shields in a glittering career but he isn’t taking any of these big moments for granted.

"Any trophy I win I've loved and have treated them all the same - maybe leagues are the top,” he said.

"You want to be as decorated as you can be at the end of your career and you never know when it's your last cup final so you don't want to take them for granted. This is my first League Cup final with Linfield and I enjoyed winning it."