Eddie Patterson has told his players to ignore the hype about Linfield and give the champions respect.

The Blues haven’t lost five games on the bounce since 1997 and David Jeffrey’s men go into tonight’s battle in front of the Sky Sports cameras at Solitude struggling to rediscover their menacing form.

Four games, four defeats and no goals aren’t statistics that will frighten rivals in the JJB Sports Premiership but Patterson knows the wounded Windsor Park lion is hungry to sink its teeth into someone.

Jeffrey will demand a performance fitting of the club’s long and proud history tonight but Cliftonville have their own agenda and it’s the manager’s job to ensure that their attitude is spot on.

“I have to laugh at this crisis talk because as David (Jeffrey) has said, 12 trophies out of 14 in the last four years says it all,” said Patterson.

“My main concern is that the players don’t believe what they read in the papers. Linfield will probably never be as hard to beat as they are now. It is a dangerous time to play them but there is never a good time. Regardless of their recent record, our players’ attitude must be right as if we don’t go into the game with the right attitude, we will end up with egg on our face.

“It is imperative we ignore Linfield’s form and focus on our task which is to prove that we can still have a say in the title race.

“Like Linfield, we will not become bad players, or a bad team overnight.”

Cliftonville are thrilled to be back at Solitude after their adventures across town at Suffolk Road.

“Everyone from the players to the fans has missed being at home,” added Patterson who may include Francis Murphy and Conor Downey in his squad.