Rory Hale impressed with how young Cliftonville pair have adapted to life in Irish League

Since both broke into Jim Magilton’s side in October, they’ve been a consistent presence in the Reds’ starting line-up and have earned plaudits for a string of impressive performances.

The academy graduates benefitted from loan spells last season – Hawthorne at Ballyclare Comrades and Sheridan with Queen’s University – and have now seized their senior Solitude opportunity.

Hawthorne scored his first Premiership goal in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Ballymena United while Northern Ireland U21 ace Sheridan grabbed headlines after netting in three consecutive league appearances earlier this season.

Magilton’s squad has changed drastically in recent times with a host of key players departing – Odhran Casey’s midweek exit to Shelbourne for a League of Ireland record transfer fee marked the latest.

The club’s academy continues to produce talented gems and Hale has been impressed with how the young pair have taken the step up in their stride.

"Joe and Keavo are doing really well,” he said. “It's really hard for these young kids now to keep their feet on the ground because of all the talk about them.

"I keep telling them, as I told Sean Moore and Shea Kearney, it's all about how many games in a row you can keep that momentum and when you do dip from that bit of good form, it's how you deal with it, getting back on the horse again and getting another good game under their belt.

"They have shown really good maturity in their game as when they don't have a good game, they can roll their sleeves up and dig it out.

"Both of them have cemented their places in the team and Jim keeps selecting them...the two of them are doing really well.”

Having caught the eye this season, 18-year-old Sheridan has been tipped for a bright future and could potentially follow the likes of Sean Moore, Shea Kearney and Coran Madden across the water.

He’ll likely feature in Saturday’s clash with Carrick Rangers, who Cliftonville also face in the Senior Shield final on Tuesday evening.

Having himself joined Aston Villa as a youngster, Hale would love to see Sheridan follow a similar path, but the Reds skipper places a high value on gaining further experience before making that jump.

"It's really hard because we probably haven't seen a dip in Joe – and I hope we don't,” he added. “But you need to see how these kids react.

"We actually forget how young these boys are and the pressure that some fans can put on them.

"As soon as they have seven or eight good games, I know what it's like, people read stuff and see they're doing absolutely amazing...that can get to the heads of players, even more so these days because it's everywhere.

"These two kids are keeping their feet on the ground, they're listening to Jim, listening to senior players around them and they're doing really well.

"I'd love to see Joe push on to greater and better things but I think he still needs probably another season of consistency like Shea Kearney and Sean Moore had.”