Glentoran will be a formidable foe for Linfield and rightly so with the money invested, says David Healy

Blues chief is reading nothing into league table ahead of Windsor joust

Smart returns: David Healy is hoping to welcome Joel Cooper back to the Linfield fold this evening

©INPHO/Presseye/Stephen Hamilto

Smart returns: David Healy is hoping to welcome Joel Cooper back to the Linfield fold this evening

Alex Mills

February 23 2021 07:31 AM

Linfield boss David Healy believes the cash invested in Glentoran over the past year makes them a formidable opponent in tonight's Big Two showdown at Windsor Park.

With the Danske Bank Premiership campaign now at the halfway point, Healy's boys lead the pack at the top of the table, three points ahead of second place Larne having played one game less.

They go into the second derby fixture of the season on the back of an energy-sapping 90 minutes against title rivals Coleraine at the weekend, whereas Mick McDermott's Glens had the day off after their game at Portadown was washed out.

There is little love lost when the teams meet and tension has been hyped up even further this time as both clubs have been at loggerheads over a number of boardroom issues.

Even though the Blues approach the game holding a whopping 15-point advantage over their east Belfast enemy, former Northern Ireland striker Healy insists the table means nothing when the sides meet and expects the Glens to be buoyed by the heavy investment the club has enjoyed since the takeover of owner Ali Pour.

"It's always a huge game," said Healy. "It doesn't really matter about league positions when the teams go head to head.

"There is no doubt Glentoran are getting stronger, but that is because of the huge amount of money they have brought into the league and spent, it must be in the region of £150,000 to £200,000 on transfer fees alone from last January.

"They probably should be a little bit higher in the league table at the minute, so we know the challenge ahead of us.

"We are up against a formidable opponent and rightly so with the amount of money invested in their squad.

"My players will require no motivation from me because it's against our biggest rivals.

"I felt we should have won the game when we last met. I thought we were the better team but, in the end, we had to dig out a point.

"They had a free weekend and should be fresh, their fitness levels will be pretty high. As opposed to that, we had a tough 90 minutes slogged out against a very good Coleraine side."

Healy is hoping to have striker Andy Waterworth and midfield maestro Joel Cooper available after both missed the weekend draw with the Bannsiders.

"Andy was carrying a little bit of a knock and Joel was missing for personal reasons," he added. "We'll see where we are before kick-off.

"With Joel and Andy missing, and after trimming down the squad in January, there are big challenges for us now.

"I know people are jumping on the bandwagon about the weather and games being postponed and whatever else; I'm the opposite, I want to play as many games as possible.

"We're in a privileged position to be able to play games and, as a club, we have tried to do everything we can to maximise the opportunity to play as many games as possible.

"Is it going to be 38? Possibly not, but let's play as much as possible. There probably is a lot made of the Saturday/Tuesday games.

"I'm sure players would rather play, especially at this club because we train hard.

"As a player, games are what you live for and the games are what you enjoy, training is the hard part. Hopefully we get to 38 games, but we need to get the most out of the season as possible.

"You play what's in front of you, but with games on Saturday, Tuesday and then Friday, you know you're probably not going to get three games out of certain players.

"That's why we picked the team we did on Saturday (against Coleraine), but I was confident we could win the game. You can't pick and choose which games you win, it's three points no matter who you beat, but we do have to be cautious at times.

"You need to make sure players get minutes and are in the best place possible before they face the mighty Glentoran.

"I've spoke to the players and there will be no motivational talks from me going into this game.

"It's a derby clash - it's Glentoran and we will definitely be ready for it."

Glentoran will be a formidable foe for Linfield and rightly so with the money invested, says David Healy

Blues chief is reading nothing into league table ahead of Windsor joust

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