David Healy has hit back at suggestions he was a “snowflake” for speaking out about alleged fan abuse after Linfield’s recent title clash with Ballymena United.
The Blues boss also says he “couldn’t care less” if critics think he was “grouchy” and believes any terrace flak should be called out for the good of the game.
“If you don’t break culture and try to change things, it remains the same,” he said.
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Healy sparked a storm earlier this month when he claimed a small section of the Ballymena support “let themselves down” during Linfield’s crucial 1-0 win at the Showgrounds.
He blasted some Sky Blue fans for targeting veteran goalkeeper Roy Carroll who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury.
Carroll, who won 45 Northern Ireland caps and hasn’t played since January, was sitting behind the Linfield dugout in the home stand during the top of the table clash.
When asked about his counterpart’s comments on BBC, Ballymena boss David Jeffrey said: “Do you ever hear me complain about the abuse I get? No. That’s right.”
Healy insists he didn’t overreact in the heat of the moment and says he would have slammed his own fans if similar abuse had been aimed at Ballymena keeper Ross Glendinning.
“I’m not a snowflake - I was talking on behalf of a player,” he said. “Maybe people thought I was reacting because I couldn’t take it, but it was nothing like that.
“I stand in front of supporters every week and I’ve no issues with people having a pop. I was protecting my player. If anyone took it that I was getting grouchy, I couldn’t care less.
“I honestly don’t care what people have to say about me. I have a job to do and I’m not subtle. I’m not a snowflake and I don’t care what anybody thinks.
“People will say if they pay their money they can say what they like, but not really. It was to try to provoke a reaction out of Roy Carroll and there was no need for it.
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“I would have said the same if Ross Glendinning had been sitting behind the dugout and Linfield fans had been having a go like that.”
Healy, who sealed the second Gibson Cup of his three and a half year reign last weekend, believes fan behaviour that crosses the line should be confronted at all times.
He also accepts Jeffrey, who won a remarkable 31 trophies in 17 years as Linfield boss, has been a constant target for the boo boys during his managerial career.
“Big Davy had it here for years,” he said. “We have to break the habit and call it out at times.
“We’re so sceptical of change in Northern Ireland. If someone says ‘we’re going to do this’ it is always met with ‘you can’t do that, it’s been done the same way for 20 years’.
“That’s always the initial reaction - no one wants to change.
“I know I had a pop at supporters the other week, but it was refreshing to listen to Gary Neville recently talking about fans’ situations (on Sky's Monday Night Football).
“If you don’t break the culture and try to change things, it will remain the same.”
Meanwhile, Healy, who was appointed Linfield boss in 2015, believes the negative experiences of last season helped improve him as a manager.
After lifting the Gibson Cup, Irish Cup and Shield in 2017, the Blues ended the 2017/18 campaign trophyless and without European football for the first time in 15 years.
On tweaking his style of man management this season, he said: “I’ve stopped getting too high when we win games and getting too low when we had bad games.
“Against Glenavon, Ballymena and Ards, if we’d lost those games last season, I would probably have lost three or four players in the dressing room with my reaction.”
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