David Healy is expecting a response from Linfield

It was the Blues first defeat of the season and their first ever to the Point.

Healy was far from impressed by has charges at Milltown and is demanding a much-improved performance in today’s evening kick-off against Cliftonville.

“I will be expecting a response from the players,” he told the club website.

“It’s so early in the season it might be the kick up the backside that we all need.

“First and foremost when you represent Linfield you have to have to empty the tank when you play.

“I don’t think we did that against Warrenpoint.

“I don’t think we worked hard enough. We didn’t pick up enough second balls.

“Credit to Warrenpoint they worked hard and we ended up with nothing from the game.

“Cliftonville always pose a difficult challenge and it’s a Belfast derby.

“We look forward to it and we will make sure we are better.

“Hopefully we will have one or two players back from injury.”

The Blues were without Andy Waterworth, Navid Nasseri and Christy Manzinga at Milltown, but Healy didn’t accept their absence as an excuse for the defeat.

“Obviously it is disappointing to be without the level of attacking players like Waterworth, Nasseri and Manzinga, but we still had enough players on the pitch and the bench to to make an impact whether that be from the start or when they come on,” he said.

“But we didn’t have enough players doing that on the pitch.

“I was shocked by the level of performance we gave.

“I understand that when you come to away grounds you have to do better, you have to do the basics, and I don’t think we did that.

“We need to do better from set plays, both for and against.

“We didn’t pose enough of a threat from our own set pieces.

“When you come to an away ground you might need a set play to get a foothold in the game, but we didn’t get that.

“To concede another two preventable goals is very disappointing.

“We’re conceding far too many soft goals at the minute.

“When you do that you make it difficult for yourself to try and find a way back into the game.”

One positive for Healy though was the performance of 18-year-old goalkeeper David Walsh.

The teenager was handed a late call up to the starting eleven after Chris Johns pulled up in the warm up.

“Obviously it’s not ideal when you have a keeper pull up in the warm up, but we had no hesitation to throw him in, and fair play to Walshy I thought he played well and earned himself the praise,” said Healy.

“David showed he is more than capable, we know that.

“His all round presence was superb, our goalkeeping coach Johnny Williamson has done a fantastic job with him.”

Cliftonville head to Windsor Park on the back of a morale boosting 5-0 win over Portadown last week.

But boss Paddy McLaughlin knows they face a tough test against the Blues.

“We never go into a match expecting anything other than a really tough game, it’s what we prepare for every week, and they don’t come any tougher than away to the League champions,” he told the club website.

“Linfield are a top side with quality players and we’ll need to show the same attitude we did against Portadown.