Declan Caddell points to area 'I've got to get sorted' as Crusaders fall to Linfield defeat

Club captain O’Rourke and former Linfield winger Clarke, who spent almost eight years at Seaview, were both confirmed as Glentoran players on Thursday.

With Robbie Weir unable to feature since September due to injury and Jordan Forsythe also missing their weekend showdown with the Blues, the double transfer exit was another blow to Caddell’s squad.

Caddell is in charge of one of the Irish League’s youngest teams with 28-year-old Stewart Nixon the oldest player starting while seven were aged 21 or under, including teenager Josh Williamson who has already racked up over 50 club appearances.

Crusaders are packed full of exciting young talent with Fraser Bryden sitting atop of the Premiership goalscoring charts alongside Joel Cooper.

Fellow Scottish stars Adam Brooks and Elliot Dunlop have impressed in their maiden Irish League campaigns, while January recruit Cameron Bruce looks a great find.

However, inexperience has also cost Crusaders at times and Caddell admits it’s an area he needs to address.

"It (losing two players) didn’t (impact preparation), to be honest,” he said. "They were two great players for us, two good servants, two good friends of mine, and they’ve decided to move on, that's football.

"It happens at every club. My job is to make sure the boys in there are ready to push forward and I thought we did that.

"I thought Cammy Bruce, who we have brought in, had a really good game. He stood out and he's probably 70-80% of where he should be.

"The boys defended well most of the time. It shows you how light we are that Lloyd Anderson has to play right-back. It was probably square pegs in round holes, as they say.

"I think I was very clear from the start of the season, you start the season off with five, six, seven senior players.

"We've lost two in the transfer window. I've lost probably four with injury throughout the season, it hurts you to lose that experience.

“So with those two going, hopefully it's given me an opportunity to bring some experience back into the team which is needed.

"We're a young team, we're always learning, but it's costing us at the minute so I've got to get that sorted.”

Only basement club Glenavon (51) have conceded more league goals this term than Crusaders (50), who slipped into 11th after Carrick Rangers defeated Dungannon Swifts 5-1 on Saturday.

The Crues went behind after only eight minutes as Matthew Fitzpatrick put Linfield ahead and David Healy’s men missed a number of chances to extend their advantage further.

"You can't start every game (conceding early goals), it's been a story this season – we keep harping on about it,” added Caddell. "It gives teams a foothold in the game.

"Once again, it was a really poor goal from us.

"Conditions were tough first half. Linfield started off well, but you can't give teams goals like that without them even having to work hard...we've done that too many times. That probably gave them a lift.

"We had a crack. The longer the game was going on, we were hoping for that one wee chance. We had a chance cleared off the line, a couple of other half chances, but we just didn't look ourselves today – that’s me being honest.

"We didn't pass the ball well enough, we weren't brave enough.”