Paddy McLaughlin set to ring the changes for Cliftonville tie

After five wins on the bounce over the Christmas period McLaughlin’s men have slumped to only one win in their last four games - their last-gasp County Antrim Shield final win over Ballymena United.

The Reds boss feels changing things up today against Rathfriland Rangers will revitalise his side again.

“I think we’ve dipped in our levels over the last couple of performances,” admitted McLaughlin.

“It’s maybe time now for a couple to get refreshed and rested and give some other boys the chance to go and impress.

“We have a good squad here so maybe it’s time to rotate without disrespecting the competition or Rathfriland. We will go as strong as we can, but I think it’s time for the other squad players to step in and see what they can do.

“The boys were on a high last Tuesday night, now the irish Cup is the chance to get a second senior medal for a lot of our young players.

“It might not come around too often so we give the Irish Cup all we have as well as staying in contention in the league for as long as we can and we’ll see what happens.”

McLaughlin was disappointed with his side’s performance in the 1-0 defeat at Coleraine on Monday night.

“I was disappointed with our forward play,” he said.

“We told them to play higher up the pitch in the second half, but we didn’t do it at all.

“I think both sides were struggling to break down each other’s defence, and it looked like it could be a 0-0.

“They grab a freak goal, sometimes it goes your way, but it’s disappointing it went against us.

“Any defeat is disappointing, but we can’t get too down on ourselves.

“It’s been a tough January, it was a really good December but disappointing this month, but it’s time to dust ourselves down and go again. There’s a long way to go and there will be a lot of ups and downs for all clubs, and it’s about who can deal with it the best. It’s up to us now to stand up and be counted.”

For Rathfriland their boss Aaron Black knows his team will have to be at their best to have any chance of progressing.

“It’s a mammoth task and for us to stand any chance of competing we need every single player to be on the top of their game and Cliftonville to have a bit of an off-day,” he said.

“We’re going there with our own game-plan, to enjoy the day, embrace it a little bit and show what we can do, plus hopefully pick up a bit of luck too.”