David Healy insists Linfield should be 'excited' by Premiership title race against Larne and Cliftonville

The Blues have entered 2024 with a one-point advantage over defending champions Larne after the pair played out a 1-1 draw at Inver Park on Saturday while Jim Magilton’s Reds are sitting in third, trailing the leaders by five.

Healy has won five league titles since he was appointed to the top job at Windsor Park eight years ago and will be hoping to take another step towards making that six when Linfield travel to Crusaders on Tuesday evening.

When asked how he would judge his current squad to previous title bids, the former Northern Ireland international said: "It's hard to judge.

"When you get into the stages where we are, what I judge on is the last three or four weeks coming off the result at The Oval. We wanted a response and came down here (Larne) in the (BetMcLean) cup and got that.

"We've beaten Dungannon, who are in decent form, Glenavon, who were in really good form at the time, Coleraine, Glentoran and now slogged it out with a really good outfit.

"I can only judge it on periods throughout the season and asking for responses and reactions. We've so many games to come and we should be looking forward to it and excited by it."

Healy has previously vented his frustration at the timing of this rescheduled fixture against the Crues, which was originally slated for November but was postponed due to Northern Ireland U21 call-ups.

His focus immediately switched to tonight’s clash after their weekend result and says they need to stand up to a physical challenge.

"All squads are being tested at the minute,” he added. "I had my say in terms of the timing of the games, but that's done and dusted now.

"I spoke for 90 seconds after the (Larne) game and straight away my mindset and the mindset of the dressing room is we have a game to play.

"Everyone will say it's our game in hand, but we have a game to play whether it's a catch-up game or not - it's another game. It's a tough venue to go to and we will need to be physically as big as we were against Larne."

It’s unlikely that talisman Joel Cooper, who missed Saturday’s top of the table clash after picking up an injury against Glentoran on Boxing Day, will recover in time.

"Joel is certainly short-term,” he said. “How short? That will be monitored next week. Is he fit for Crusaders? Probably not.

"We've Warrenpoint next Saturday in the Irish Cup so we'll assess probably after the Crusaders game and see what we can do. (Jamie) Mulgrew will be back for Seaview after suspension and we will assess the squad."