Cliftonville FC host Glentoran in the County Antrim Shield quarter-final on Tuesday night, a match manager Jim Magilton has framed as a chance to end a damaging run of form. The Reds have lost five successive Premiership games, a sequence that has left them ninth in the table with 12 points from 11 matches.
Magilton praised his players' character following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to league leaders Coleraine but stressed the need for immediate improvement. "It’s the odd goal and it has been the odd goal in the five games," he said. The boss believes his side have been competitive but lacked composure in decisive moments, hitting the woodwork regularly during the losing streak.
Focus on Tuesday
"There’s learnings from every game," Magilton added. "We’ll take it on board but then we’ve got to come out all guns blazing on Tuesday night." He acknowledged a natural hesitancy when not winning but told his squad to knuckle down for the derby at Solitude, which kicks off at 7.45pm. Tickets for the tie are on general sale, priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for under-12s.
The visitors, Glentoran, are under the temporary charge of Pat McCourt and Tim McCann following Declan Devine's departure. Magilton had previously been linked with the vacancy at the East Belfast club. Cliftonville's focus, however, is solely on arresting their slide, with their next Premiership fixture a home game against 11th-placed Portadown on Saturday.
First reported at Cliftonville Football Club
