Having previously worked with Brian Healy in his role as Ballyclare Comrades boss, Stephen Small had no doubt the young striker would thrive at Premiership level if given an opportunity – and believes the Cliftonville star is only getting better.

It was during his year on loan at Ballyclare from Newry City when Healy first started to show signs of his prolific goalscoring talents, netting 18 goals across all competitions for the then-Championship club, including a maiden Irish League hat-trick.

Healy returned to Newry before joining H&W Welders ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, taking his game to another level by scoring 22 goals in 23 league matches for Paul Kee’s side.

That form caught the attention of Cliftonville, who made their move in January and have provided Healy with a platform to shine.

placeholder image — Brian Healy impressed during a loan spell at Ballyclare Comrades. (Photo by Ballyclare Comrades)

Healy is currently enjoying a purple patch for Jim Magilton’s men, scoring five in his last three league games alongside netting on Tuesday night as Cliftonville secured progression to yet another Co Antrim Senior Shield final by beating Bangor.

A former Reds player and coach, Small has been a frequent visitor to Solitude this season and is impressed by the strides Healy has taken – but predicts there’s even more to come.

"He's learning all the time,” Small told the News Letter. “He’s in great goalscoring form, but I think more importantly, his all-around game looks like it's improving as well, that’s hats off to the manager.

"Outside of Brian and Joe Gormley coming off the bench, Cliftonville don’t have dedicated strikers at the minute.

"They've shown patience and maybe Brian's felt the confidence of knowing if he misses a couple of chances he's not going to be dropped, they are going to persist with him and the confidence they've shown in him is paying off.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if he keeps working really hard, he'll score goals at this level, no problem.

"He's still learning all the time, learning the position, and a couple of goals he scored recently have been six yards out, which he's not notoriously known for.

"That shows me that they're concentrating on getting him into the box and making sure he knows that's where you get most of your goals.

"There’s also no better man to learn off than Joe Gormley, that's for sure.”

During their time together at Dixon Park, Small witnessed all the key attributes required to thrive at Premiership level in Healy, and believes he’s versatile in terms of future positioning.

"I had no doubt that Brian had all the attributes to be a Premiership player,” added Small. “I'm not sure if he's going to end up as a nine or if he might play off the striker or a bit wider.

"I have no doubt that he's at that level and will only get better with playing more games, gaining more experience and getting the coaching.

"He'll definitely thrive at this level.

"I didn't see him as a Championship player. He was a young player with loads of potential but he needed to get that break or he might have been stuck at Championship level. He definitely was better than that, there's no doubt.”