Mark Holland has laughed off claims that Linfield are in crisis.

However, the Cliftonville striker plans to pour even more misery onto David Jeffrey and his men when the sides clash in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night.

A new-look Solitude will be unveiled and the Reds are hoping to make it a happy homecoming by conquering their bitter rivals.

The big guns shared the spoils in a four-goal thriller in the first Sky televised Irish League fixture at the north-Belfast venue last season and Holland, who featured in that roller-coaster ride, is anticipating another classic encounter.

Linfield’s treble double form has deserted them and four games without a win or a goal has sparked talk of the Blues bubble bursting.

But Holland dismisses that theory and he expects the champions to bounce back from their rough patch.

“People talking about a crisis at Linfield are crazy,” he said.

“That talk is beyond belief. Without a doubt, I thought they would miss Peter Thompson, but we know ourselves that you have ups and downs and a run of games when things go badly for you.

“Look at Spurs in the Premiership, you can get stuck in a bad run, but it comes to an end. I read what (Dungannon Swifts manager) John Cunningham said about Linfield, that there is never a good time to play them, and he’s right.

“But obviously we hope to beat them and show that we are still up for the title fight. I have a never say die attitude and my view is we can get right back into the race. We’ll give it a good shot.”

Holland is desperate to net his first goal of the season but the impressive form of Chris Scannell and Rory Hamill has kept the Reds out of the bottom three.

Defensively, Eddie Patterson’s side must improve, but being back at their Solitude home and playing in front of a vociferous Red Army, should assist their cause.

“The fans have been fantastic and they really are a twelfth man,” added Holland.

“They have stuck by us in tough times and we plan to replay them.

“The atmosphere at Solitude will be much better and I can’t wait to play there again. And the game has added spice as it will be broadcast around the world.”

Meanwhile, Paul Alexander, who joined the Reds from Banbridge Town in the summer, yesterday completed a loan switch to IFA Championship side Armagh City.