Jim Magilton praises Cliftonville super sub who has made 'real impact' ahead of Irish Cup final

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, McWoods has enjoyed a nomadic career to date, spending time in Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Jordan, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and now Northern Ireland.

He arrived at Solitude in January and after overcoming injuries which limited his initial involvement, McWoods has provided Magilton with a weapon off the bench, scoring four times last month as the Reds sealed seventh spot.

The 29-year-old played the final half-hour in last weekend’s 4-1 win at Loughgall – a result which means Cliftonville will have the fallback option of sealing European progression via the play-offs should they miss out in Saturday’s Irish Cup final – and provided two assists.

With club legend Joe Gormley and Ryan Curran frontrunners to start in the showpiece decider against Dungannon Swifts at Windsor Park, McWoods could provide a significant threat in the closing stages if required.

"He has provided the pace that we need,” Magilton told BBC Sportsound. “When the sting has gone out of the game around 60 or 65 minutes, his pace has proved crucial for us.

"Over the past month he has came on and made a difference...all you really want from your subs is to have that impact.

"Sometimes it's very difficult, but when you're blessed with that pace...if you knock the ball into space he's someone who can read that pass.

"We have utilised that. It took him a bit of time to get into his stride here but he is certainly someone who can make a real impact."

Cliftonville had won five consecutive matches prior to suffering defeat against Portadown on April 19, but got back on track at Lakeview Park and Magilton says it’s important to be ruthless in an effort to build momentum.

"It was massive because we let ourselves down at Portadown, there's no question about that,” added Magilton. “In terms of intensity and levels of performance, we were so below par and that was quite surprising because we had went five matches unbeaten and were really getting a bit of momentum.

"For whatever reason one or two were looking over their shoulder and we had a few choice words after it.

"There's no switch - you have to keep building your levels and standards. The (Loughgall) result is massively important to us - it gives us another chance if we don't take that opportunity.

"We set out this season to defend the Irish Cup and have done that valiantly up to now...we have a fantastic opportunity to go and win it again."