Jim Magilton's Cliftonville bid for Irish League domestic bounce off European exit
After domestic bliss to close out the previous campaign but European blues to kick off the summer, Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton is searching for a strong league start built on team “principles”.
"The Irish Cup final (in May) was a great advert for the local game from both clubs and an iconic finish for us,” said Magilton, who secured the Irish Cup silverware for Cliftonville after a 45-year wait. "You work so hard throughout a season to qualify for Europe and Europe became the main focus this summer, with pre-season packed with games and sessions to try and get us up to speed.
"Once we qualified for Europe we tapered off last season, okay there was a cup final looming and a lot of eyes on that but for us it was always what can we do better.
"So then we asked the question around improvements, even those slight changes to make us better.
"In fairness to the players, they came back in pre-season and worked so, so hard - the attitude and application.
"We got the very best out of the group, you're always time-restricted but I felt we did our very, very best and now we're ready for the season and looking forward to Sunday."
Magilton is keen to turn the UEFA Conference League exit into a Premiership positive.
“I hope we use the disappointment of going out of Europe to kick on,” he said. "We had a great start last year, which embedded a lot of things we'd been trying in pre-season.
"We've had a year with the group and those lads who have come in understand how we work and what we want...so it's really important to get off to a really good start.
"The group of players that started last year deserve immense credit because they hit the ground running and were exceptional, which tells you the quality and attitude.
"We talk about individual performance then relate that back to the team group and those principles don't change...the players also respond off the fans."
The Sunday visit of a Portadown side promoted back to the top table as second-tier champions is one to savour.
"Home is always a great way to start,” he said. "I've great respect for Portadown and Niall Currie...he is a character and the game needs those.
"Niall brings enthusiasm and energy, two important ingredients people often miss.”