'He was one of the main reasons why I came' - Linfield star happy to continue working with David Healy as Blues aim to regain Irish League title

Healy was strongly linked with a switch to the Scottish Championship outfit over the past week with reports even suggesting the 45-year-old had agreed personal terms ahead of the move, but the South Belfast club confirmed on Monday he’d penned a one-year contract extension which will bring him into his ninth year at the helm.

Ex-Rangers striker Healy has won five Premiership titles, three League Cup crowns and two Irish Cups in a trophy-laden Linfield tenure which started in October 2015.

He will take charge of his first match since news broke about his future on Friday evening when the unbeaten Blues travel to Portadown and Shields says the squad haven’t let “outside noise” distract them.

"There was outside noise and last week we had to see it as outside noise,” he said. “We started the season well and we know games against the likes of Loughgall can be tricky so we had to focus on the game at hand.

"When you're the manager at Linfield and with how well he has done, you're going to attract interest so it became something that gathered pace quickly. It got to a point where it looked like he might go and then on Monday it was announced he was staying and signed a new contract.

"For us it was good...I have a good relationship with him and he was one of the main reasons why I came to Linfield when I did.

"It's (winning the league) the main aim for Linfield every year and those are the demands set on you. We've a group of characters in the changing room where we can make light of the situation and not let it become the main story.

"We wanted to keep our good start to the season going and there were a few jokes made at David's expense before the Loughgall game. It's part and parcel of football and at the end of the day we got a good result and the club have got a good result with David's extension."

Victory at Shamrock Park would boost Linfield’s lead over defending Gibson Cup champions Larne to 15 points with the Inver Reds yet to get their campaign underway due to European progression.

Their hat-trick bid will start with a trip to Coleraine on Sunday, but Shields remains fully focused on what his side can control, predicting Friday’s clash could be the toughest of the campaign to date.

"Our target at the end of August was to have 15 points,” he added. “It's nice to have played the games and for other teams to have to catch up...I've been in that situation before in my career where you're looking up the table and it can be a daunting task.

"You'd rather have the points than the games to play. Our full focus is solely on Portadown and ourselves at the moment because this will probably be our toughest task of the month...there seems to be something different in the air on Friday nights with teams up for it and there's a decent atmosphere between Portadown and Linfield.

"I'm sure it's one that stuck out in the calendar for Portadown fans when they got promoted and I'm sure Niall (Currie, manager) will have them galvanised for tomorrow night."