Stephen Baxter wants Crusaders to maintain their high standards

The Crues take on reigning champions Linfield in the campaign curtain raiser at Windsor Park this afternoon.

And while winning the Charity Shield may not be their main target for this year, Baxter wants them to start as they mean to go on.

“Sometimes you raise your standards because of the opposition that you are playing, you have to defend for your lives and all that sort of stuff,” he told the club’s Facebook page. “Football is all about taking your chances when they appear and getting over the line.

“There will be a lot of ebbing and flowing as the season unfolds.

“You can open yourself up to get after teams and maybe get caught on the break by clever players from other teams.

“But that’s natural. The season is a long campaign.

“Our players will learn from the European games, and it’s the standards they set themselves, how they play and the attitude of their performance.

“You never doubt the quality, it’s the attitude of the performance.

“You have to drive yourself. It’s like going to work on a Monday morning when you don’t want to go to work.

“You have to push yourself every single week, when it’s wet and cold and there’s snow on the ground, that’s when it is a bit more difficult and challenging.

“But that’s what a campaign is all about and what having a squad is all about.

“This group has bonded over the last three or four weeks, it’s a short space of time. We have to make sure everyone is up to speed and ready to go once the campaign starts.”

While Crusaders’ European adventure has ended Linfield’s is still going on with a second leg against FC Zurich coming quickly after today’s clash.

“I make no bones about it, it’s not an ideal time to play, but we will have a strong Linfield team playing,” said Healy.

“It’s a competition we have to play in because we’re the champions and as I say we’ll have a strong side out.