Former Cliftonville star feels influential captain Rory Hale 'one of the best players in the league' after role in European qualification
Former Cliftonville star Ciaran Caldwell believes influential captain Rory Hale has established himself as “one of the best players in the league” and feels the midfield maestro has taken his game to another level.
Hale has been a driving force behind the Reds’ recent success, playing a pivotal role in their push towards Irish Cup glory last year and lifted the BetMcLean Cup as skipper in March.
The 28-year-old stepped up once again in the wake of Cliftonville’s penalty shootout heartbreak against Dungannon Swifts as they fell agonisingly short in a bid to seal consecutive Irish Cup crowns, scoring in Sunday’s European play-off final win over Coleraine.
That major high came just eight days on from the crushing low of missing out at Windsor Park and Caldwell says Hale has led from the front as the Solitude outfit booked their continental return.
"Rory Hale for me is one of the best players in the league,” said Caldwell. “He leads by example with how he plays and there seems to be a real togetherness in the changing room.
"I know Rory away from Cliftonville on a personal level too and he’s a great lad.
"You look throughout the league and Joel Cooper is probably the standalone in terms of being the best player, but if any team in the league could take Rory Hale they’d all bite your hand off.
"I think he has really bought into the ethos at Cliftonville, the community feel that goes with it and he’s from the area. He has been a catalyst for everything good they’ve done this season.”
Hale was named in the NIFWA Team of the Season after another standout campaign and Caldwell, who won two Premiership titles during his time at Solitude, feels he’s the perfect person to build around as Cliftonville prepare for a full-time era under new ownership.
"He has taken his game to another level and he seems to have matured,” added Caldwell. “When you looked at him a couple of years ago he was maybe all energy, but now he can control games from a bit deeper.
"Against Glentoran (in European play-off semi-final) he took the game by the scruff and I was very impressed by his performance that night along with his teammates.
"Rory has everything in his game. With the energy and how he gets about the pitch, it always looks like he’s involved, whether that’s defensively or going forward.
"I do think more recently he has got into a position where he can control games from slightly deeper and that just shows the maturity in his game.
"When you look at some of the best midfielders in recent times, any midfielder that can add goals to their game gets that bit more recognition and if Rory could add more goals to his game then it would take him to the next level again.
"If you look at Cliftonville, Rory is going to be the driving force behind it you’d imagine for the next three or four years.
"Europe was key with the investment coming in and financially they’re going to be in a better position.
"Financially, if you can dangle that carrot for players that you’re going to be playing European football in the summer then it will definitely enhance the quality of players coming in through the door at Cliftonville.”