Cliftonville boss Paddy McLaughlin hopes his players have smashed a mental barrier at a time when his team’s title credentials will come under the sharpest scrutiny.
The Reds were scarred by last month’s late collapse at Ballymena United when they led 2-0 in the 88th minute only to come away with a 2-2 draw.
Surrendering two precious points stung but McLaughlin has been impressed by the Reds’ response with three straight wins in all competitions in February.
A 1-0 win at Carrick Rangers in the Irish Cup was backed up by a 3-2 league win at the same venue and an impressive 2-0 win over Coleraine.
Ahead of tonight’s home clash with Warrenpoint Town, McLaughlin said: “I said after the Carrick game that there was probably a mental scar from throwing away leads in the past.
“And rightly so. When that has happened in the past you do fear the worst at times especially when you’re under a bit of the cosh.
“That has been shown a couple of times against us, but we showed character to withstand a bit of pressure late on at Carrick in the league and got the job done.
“It wasn’t always comfortable and it wasn’t nice to watch, but it was effective and we probably carried that mindset into the Coleraine game.”
A Ryan Curran brace, to take the forward’s tally to 19 goals for the season, propelled Cliftonville to three crucial points against the Bannsiders.
And it leaves them breathing down the necks of joint leaders Linfield and Glentoran at the top of the Danske Bank Premiership.
“At 1-0 and 2-0 up against Coleraine, I don’t think we looked nervous at any stage or did it look as if we were going to concede,” said McLaughlin.
“We just kept doing what we were doing and hopefully breaking that barrier down carries us on into what’s left of the season.”
A win over Warrenpoint, who are scrapping for survival at the foot of the table, would edge the Reds to within a point of the Big Two with 10 games to play.
Privately, McLaughlin will know he’s in the thick of a title race, but publicly he is sticking to his mantra that the Blues and Glens are in a two-way scrap for the Gibson Cup.
“Those two are your title contenders and we’re happy to let them battle it out,” he said. “It’s up to others to try and hold onto their coattails.”
- Monday night's fixture between Cliftonville and Warrenpoint Town at Solitude has a 7.45pm kick-off
