Linfield star clear 'we know the standards are very high' after securing consecutive Premiership wins
Linfield goal hero Ethan McGee praised his side for bouncing back from an opening day loss to secure consecutive Premiership victories after defeating Cliftonville 1-0 on Friday night – declaring “we know the standards here are very high”.
The Blues began the 2026/27 season with a shock 3-0 league defeat to Ballymena United – former striker Chris McKee scored twice at his old home Windsor Park – but have responded in fine style, beating both Glentoran and the Reds.
It was McGee’s second half strike which sealed maximum points for David Healy’s men while they also collected a first clean sheet of the term.
After a difficult time following the Ballymena setback, McGee says the Linfield changing room stuck together and have been able to come out the other side in a positive manner.
"We’ve bounced back,” McGee told the club’s media channel. “After the Ballymena loss, a lot of players had their heads down and stuff like that.
"It wasn’t acceptable, we know that the standards here at Linfield are very high, I’ve seen that since I came to the club.
"We’ve regrouped the last couple of weeks, we’ve stuck together, and we’ve had a lot of senior players taking the younger boys under their arm and talking to them and guiding them in the right direction.
"That’s what we need this year, a bit of grit, determination and hunger to try and see out results. I thought we were good in that aspect (against Cliftonville).
"It was a difficult game. We knew Cliftonville would come here and set up really well and they did that.
"I don't think we really got going in the first half, but we regrouped at half-time and came out with a bit more grit and bit more fight, thankfully we came away with the three points.”
Last weekend, Kirk Millar scored his first Premiership goal since April 2025 and McGee has now ended his long wait – the 23-year-old last found the net in a 5-1 league victory over Loughgall in August 2024.
"I don’t even know the last time I scored!” laughed McGee. “I watched Kirk’s interview last week and he was saying he hadn’t scored in a while...I was listening thinking ‘I haven’t scored in a long time either’.
"I’m delighted to get on the end of that tonight and get the three points.”