Cliftonville vs Ballymena Utd
Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin is bracing himself for a Ballymena backlash at Solitude (7.45pm).
While the Reds have lost just one of their last nine outings and beat Larne 1-0 at the weekend, David Jeffrey’s men are on a four game losing streak.
But McLaughlin, who suffered a painful 4-0 loss to United at Solitude earlier in the season, is taking nothing for granted.
“Ballymena have a good squad of players and one of the best managers in the Irish League for a long, long time,” he said.
“They’re never going to be a bad side as long as David Jeffrey is in charge and those players don’t become bad players overnight.
“They still have the potential to batter anybody, so we’ll prepare as if that’s a possibility, which it is. It’ll be a tough game.
“The 4-0 defeat to Ballymena here wasn’t good enough and it wasn’t acceptable. It’s also proof if you don’t turn up against them, they can hurt you badly.
“We didn’t battle or perform that night and we got battered. If anyone says ‘it’s only Ballymena’, they’re crazy because they have the potential to smash you if you don’t step up.
“Our performance levels have risen since then and on the back of Saturday’s performance and result against Larne, our tails will be up. We’ll look forward to the challenge.”
