Linfield's BetMcLean League Cup final hero Joel Cooper says winning trophies "never gets boring".
Cooper struck the crucial opening goal four minutes into the second half to give his side the upper hand over Coleraine before Chris Shields added a second from the spot ten minutes later to seal the cup for an 11th time.
Cooper is hoping the fact that they have landed some silverware, in what he labelled "a frustrating season", can give them a boost going into the title run-in.
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“Winning trophies never gets old and never gets boring," said the 27-year-old.
"If we didn’t win there would be more pressure on us but hopefully it gives us more belief now going into the last seven games.
“We want to keep pushing because we know the position we’re in the league.
"If we win seven games and don’t win the league we can’t be too disappointed with how you finished the season.
“The season has been frustrating. We never really gave ourselves a chance. In years gone by it was people chasing us but this year we’ve given ourselves a hard, hard task.
“We had a run of games when we were closing the gap, then we were back to where we started.
”I don’t like using Europe as an excuse because it was so long ago but the entire league has gotten closer.
“Europe may have harmed our belief but I don’t like saying that, as a group of players we need to do more in these games."
By his own admission Cooper has struggled for consistency this season, but he is hoping he cab hit those levels again.
“I’ve been up and down this season, some weeks I’ve played well and some weeks I’ve been poor," he said.
“I try not to think too much about my own form.
"There were a lot of games at the start with Europe which didn’t help, but I think as a group we’ve been like that but I don’t like using excuses.
“Hopefully going forward I can get that level of consistency I’ve had before.
“It’s days like this when you really want to play well but I still think there’s more in me."
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