Paddy McLaughlin says he will continue throwing a protective arm around teen star Sean Moore.
The 17-year-old boosted his burgeoning reputation with another impressive display in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Glentoran.
Moore's scything run through the visiting defence led to Kris Lowe's deflected winner 12 minutes from time.
Read more: Cliftonville vs Glentoran as it happened at Solitude
The teenage winger continues to show maturity beyond his fledgling years, and boss McLaughlin believes Moore is in the right environment to continue his football education without any unwanted distractions.
"Sean Moore was superb tonight. He is an exciting player and one we have to look after and protect," McLaughlin said after Tuesday's win.
"He has a long way to go before he is the finished article but so far the fans can see how exciting he is and how good he can be.
"He is still working hard on his game. He is quiet by nature but he comes alive on the pitch, and he shows great maturity for 17.
"He has had a couple of great assists now and gets into some great positions. He has brilliant potential, but he has a lot of work to do.
"He is in the right changing room and those boys will look after him and protect him. It is important we don't expect too much of him too soon as he is still a young boy."
Moore's meandering run teed up Lowe for his first-ever goal for Cliftonville.
It was the makeshift midfielder's 97th appearance for the Reds, and McLaughlin joked he hopes it isn't another century of games before he doubles his tally.
"These games are decided by defining moments, and we got that chance with Kris Lowe scoring his first goal for the club," he said.
"He has it in his 97th appearance, so I hope he doesn't have to wait another 97 for his next goal.
"He moved into the middle of the park for us and he was superb. Like they all were. But especially Kris who was excellent in there and scored the winner."
Tuesday's win elevated Cliftonville to second spot in the Premiership and to within two points of leaders Larne.
McLaughlin admits it was the perfect result to send them into Boxing Day's huge North Belfast derby against Crusaders.
"Sitting second is brilliant, but we're not focusing on that. We just want as many points on the board as we can," he added.
"The table will chop and change but that's the way this league goes.
"The lads were excellent tonight and deserve applause for a clean sheet and the victory. But we will wake up on Wednesday and start preparing for Crusaders. These points have been banked and that's it.
"The players were excellent throughout the pitch and battled through it. We defended well and took our chance when it came our way.
"So we are delighted, but we move on."
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