Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Steven Crawford

'Win, lose or draw, all eyes are always on Linfield' - Joel Cooper

Joel Cooper accepts that win, lose or draw all eyes are always on Linfield.

The Blues have been attracting attention for the wrong reasons after a stuttering start to their Danske Bank Premiership defence.

Last Friday night's 3-0 loss to 'Big Two' rivals Glentoran was a particularly sore one for Linfield and their fanbase.

Read more: Hamilton fears refereeing decision could end up costing him his job

Putting a halt to the slump sooner rather than later was key for David Healy's men, who showed great character in midweek to fight back and take the points against an impressive Glenavon side.

Cooper played a key role scoring one and setting up the other two for Kirk Millar and Eetu Vertainen and the Blues will hope this is the kick start their season needs.

"I think the eyes are always on us to be fair," said the forward.

"When you're winning people want to see if you'll keep winning.

"And when you lose games people can't wait for you to lose again so they can rub it in even more.

"But you know that's going to be the case when you come here.

"That's probably why a lot of people want to come here as they want to stand up and be watched.

"We could have gone under against Glenavon when it went to 2-1, but we showed good character to come back and win.

"We probably were a bit fragile. You could see it when they scored, but it's hard when you haven't had a run of games that you've won behind you.

"The teams around us are winning and we lost such a big game last Friday.

"It's always good to show we can battle back from a bit of adversity.

"All we can do is keep pushing, it showed at the end what it means to us to get over the line."

It's another big test for Linfield this afternoon as league leaders Larne visit Windsor Park.

The Invermen had made an unbeaten start to the campaign and Cooper feels Linfield's woes have helped Larne fly under the radar.

"We're probably in the spotlight for the wrong reasons and they're maybe sailing along under the radar a bit," he said.

"They have changed some personnel and maybe changed the way they play a bit.

"They are maybe a lot harder to beat and not as 'total football' as they were.

"Credit to them they are top of the league for a reason as they have been the best up until now.

"If we want to claw teams back and get to the top of the league these are the games we have to win.

"As I say they will be coming here expecting to win and we'll be the same so something has to give."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.