Re-run against Bangor going to be 'completely different' time this around, says Linfield boss David Healy
David Healy says he has warned his Linfield team against complacency as they face Bangor for the second time in seven days.
The Blues were in clinical fashion for the first meeting as they secured an emphatic 6-1 win against the Seasiders at Windsor Park.
However, Premiership commitments have now been swapped for the Irish Cup as the two teams do it all over again at the same venue in the fifth-round of the competition.
Healy is expecting Bangor to be improved this time around and will use the hurt from the heavy defeat last time out as motivation.
He told Linfield TV: “I've no doubt next week's game, the cup game, is going to be different.
"They had four or five missing, a wee bit of experience, a wee bit of bite maybe in the middle of the pitch.
"So, we will be warning the players about complacency the rest of the week, make sure that we concentrate on what will be a completely different game next week.
"Back-to-back games can be difficult. I spoke to Lee (Feeney) after the game, and again, I've no doubt he will try and use that as a motivation, getting beat here today.
"They also complimented us on the way we played today – so, it'll be different.
"It'll be different, as I say, once they add three or four potentially into the team, they become a little bit stronger, a little bit more physical, so, we'll need to prepare for the best version of Bangor and we'll try and do that this week.”
That success last week brought an end to three successive defeats for the Blues and Healy has issued a rallying call for supporters to get behind the team ahead of the business section of the section.
"We get the frustration of defeats, nobody wants to lose,” he explained.
"We don't set out on a Monday in preparation for a Tuesday game or a Saturday game to lose any, so, I'm understanding that.
"But I'm also understanding that players, myself, we're held accountable, we're in privilege. I am in a privileged position as manager of this club.
"It means a great deal to me, it means a great deal to the rest of the staff, and it has to be equally as important to the players that our level of performance, improvements, percentage improvements, and we'll try and narrow the gap.
"We have a Cup game this weekend, we have a cup semi-final at the end of January. There's still a lot to look forward to and there's still a lot to play for.
"If we can encourage the players with the freedom to come here, especially at home, with the freedom to go and play with the freedom, that might encourage the players to play a little bit, to be a little bit better.”