Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin is confident his players won’t be seduced by “treble” talk heading into the business end of the season.
The Reds completed the first leg of a potential triple by beating Coleraine in last Sunday’s BetMcLean League Cup final at Windsor Park.
An Irish Cup semi-final against Crusaders lies in wait on April 1 while they are also currently in the thick of a tense title race with Linfield and Glentoran at the top of the Premiership.
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Blues boss David Healy pointed out earlier this month that Cliftonville are genuine title contenders and the only Irish League club chasing the treble.
But McLaughlin is turning a deaf ear to the outside noise.
“We can’t control what other people say about us,” he said. “And in many ways, it’s a positive that people are talking about us in those terms.
“It’s nice for people to talk about us winning leagues, cups or trebles. It’s brilliant because it means they must respect what we are doing.
“I don’t mind if people want to talk about us because it’s a compliment to our players. At this stage of the season, our only focus is on the next game.”
Cliftonville lifted the second trophy of McLaughlin’s three year reign in dramatic circumstances against 10-man Coleraine in front of 11,103 fans at Windsor Park.
The Bannsiders led 2-0 before the Reds hit back with two goals apiece from supersubs Joe Gormley and Paul O’Neill in normal and extra-time.
Coleraine, who lost James McLaughlin to a 91st minute red card, scored at the death through Curtis Allen but the Solitude men weren't to be denied a memorable 4-3 win.
Ahead of Saturday's league trip to Glenavon, McLaughlin said: “The key word now is momentum.
“The players have been brilliant all season and they have gone toe-to-toe with all the top teams. I thought the mentality they showed against Coleraine was superb.
“We have to keep that going now in the league and into the split. We have three games left before the split and we want to carry our recent form into those games.
“If we can stay in touch with Linfield and Glentoran when the division splits into a top-six and bottom-six, you never know what can happen.”
Cliftonville, who lie four points off the summit with a game in hand, head to Mourneview Park on the back of eight wins in all competitions.
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