Matthew Clarke reveals what drives Linfield on

The defender, who has been at the club for nine years, knows exactly what it means to play for the Blues.

The drive for success is unrelenting and Clarke says the importance of adding to the club’s remarkable trophy haul is driven home by Healy.

“Four titles in a row is not bad... It’s some record for David,” said Clarke.

“He’s delivered another one, but I’m sure come tomorrow he’ll be looking ahead to next season.

“That’s the type of manager he is, he demands success from his players.

“Second place and not winning trophies is simply not good enough for the manager.

“I would say he’s up there with the likes of Roy Coyle and David Jeffrey given his record.

“He’s probably got the best out of the bunch this year there’s no doubt about it.

“A lot of it is down to him considering we have delivered another league title.”

Clarke knows Healy’s success will not go unnoticed in some quarters with admiring glances from other clubs.

“Obviously if he has aspirations to go across the water and give his record here it would only be natural if clubs were monitoring his situation,” said the full back.

“If he does go across the water then you hold your hands up and say it’s probably something he couldn’t turn down.

“But this is the biggest club in the land, in Northern Ireland and Ireland definitely, but if something comes up from across the pond it is hard to turn down, but hopefully not.

“If he was to leave I don’t think he would be appreciated until he had left.

“The manager, like the players, does his talking on the pitch and we’ve delivered another title.

With Cliftonville pushing the Blues all the way, and with the club making the transition to a full-time set-up after losing so many key players in the summer Clarke ranks this title win as one of the toughest.

“Considering the players who left in the summer, they weren’t just players, they were massive in the changing room as well,” he said.

“To win the league last year and go and do it again this year considering the transition into the full-time set-up is fantastic.

“Everyone has bought into it. When you consider the quality that’s in the league it’s probably up there with my toughest title that I’ve won.

“There’s such quality in the league and we lost so much quality from the squad.

“The players that have come in have had to buy into what the club is about as well.

“Second place isn’t good enough for Linfield and never will be.

“If you don’t buy into that you simply won’t be at the football club.

“When you’re at Linfield the criticism comes every year.

“If you lose one or two games it’s a crisis. You get used to it.

“We just nip away quietly and let everyone else do the talking.

“We do our talking on the pitch and we’ve delivered another league title.

“As I said it’s been tough, but to get over the line again it’s an unbelievable achievement from everyone.”

With almost a decade of service at Windsor Park under his belt Clarke is now one of the more experienced squad members and he is thriving under the responsibility.

“I’ve probably had to step up a wee bit more than in previous years and adjust a bit to become a more seasoned pro,” he said.

“There are lads who have come in who maybe haven’t won things and you have to bang the drum and tell them what Linfield is all about...winning trophies it’s as simple as that!

“I enjoy that responsibility.

“There’s a few of us in there now who have played a lot of games for this football club.

“I’ve thrived on it and it has brought me on to another level being that experienced head.”