Cliftonville will reap the benefit of tough schedule says Paddy McLaughlin

The Reds have faced Derry City, Shamrock Rovers, Bala Town and The New Saints in preparation for their first qualifying round clash with the Slovakians.

It has been a hectic schedule for the Solitude outfit, but McLaughlin feels they will reap the benefits of it.

“In general play, our fitness levels, speed of movement on the ball and quality of our play has been excellent and that’s a good thing going into not just the European ties but the season ahead,” he told the Reds website.

“All this hard work we’re doing at the minute, travelling over here to play matches and facing Shamrock Rovers and Derry City, is not just geared towards the European games, it’s geared towards next season.

“If we can maintain this standard and fitness levels and keep improving then, come the start of the season, our boys are going to be more than ready for it.”

The cross-channel double header was tough on Cliftonville given the schedule but McLaughlin was pleased with the efforts.

“Over the course of the weekend, the boys were superb,” he said.

“We had a really tough couple of days with training and playing, and even the travelling.

“It’s been good for the players’ development and for the group going into the European games and next season.

“The Saturday was a long day. We were on the go from three o’clock in the morning and playing 12 hours later, so it was a lot to ask of the players but it was no problem to them; they coped with it well and, in terms of the demands that were placed on them, I thought they were excellent, all of them.”