Irish Premiership: Larne game ‘massive’ to see ‘where Cliftonville are at’

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton said that his side have shown “glimpses of quality” this season, but he wants more consistency.

The Reds are second in the table ahead of their meeting with defending champions Larne on Sunday at Inver Park, a game that is live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

And Magilton wants the Reds to back up their impressive 4-0 win against Loughgall last weekend.

“Sunday is a massive game, we will see where we’re at, I’m happy but there is room for improvement,” he said.

“We had a blip against Ballymena, but we have shown glimpses of quality and control, we have had lapses that haven’t been so pleasing but it is about momentum and trying to continue that.”

Magilton was asked if it was a good time to face Larne given the Inver side were in European action on Thursday night, losing 1-0 against Olimpija in Ljubljana.

But the Reds boss was adamant that there is “no good time” to take on the Inver outfit, especially given it will be new manager Nathan Rooney’s first game in charge.

“They have a big enough squad; will they be sidetracked [by European football]? No,” he continued.

“Cliftonville at home is a big fixture so they will refocus very quickly, new manager in the dugout and he will be expecting a reaction because they’re playing catch up.”