Cliftonville showed incredible mettle by winning Euro Play-Off after Irish Cup heartache: Rory Hale
Cliftonville captain Rory Hale has predicted a bright future for the club after they finished an emotional and gruelling season on a high.
The Reds picked themselves up off the floor after losing the Irish Cup Final to conquer Coleraine on their own patch and secure the Premiership's final lucrative European place.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Rocky Bushiri named among Premiership elite as insider warns Hibs that free agent has 'a lot of interest'
The defender has a big decision to make on his future after the end of Easter Road deal Nick Montgomery reckons Hibs star Rocky Bushiri has established himself as one of the top defenders in the Scottish Premiership. The big DR Congo international is now out-of-contact and European-bound Hibs and several other clubs in England and across Europe are fighting for his signature. Bushiri came in from the cold and scored a stoppage time leveller against Aberdeen to take the pressure off David Gray. From there, Hibs and the player went from strength to strength. His former manager said: 'This season, I have watched him closely. At the start, he wasn't really getting selected or involved. 'Hibs had a really difficult first part of the season but that changed when Rocky came into the team. To see him score that goal against Aberdeen, which changed Hibs' season and to see him and the club just grow and grow was amazing. 'I am really proud of Rocky for the way he has pushed on. He has really kicked on and has become one of the top defenders in the Scottish Premiership. He won the players' player of the year and there is no higher reward. 'It just shows Rocky's character with the fact he got so little game time at the start of the season. 'For him to step on the way he did has been brilliant. He was big in terms of Hibs finishing third. 'I wasn't surprised because I knew how good he was and I always believed in him.' Bushiri will make a decision on his future after his international commitments. Montgomery added: "If Hibs could re-sign him it would be fantastic but if he goes on somewhere else then he would be a top signing on a free transfer. 'I know Rocky has a lot of interest. I am not surprised because he has had such a good season. I am not privy to where he is going but I am pleased that he has put himself in such a strong position because as a player and person he deserves the very best.' Montgomery quickly saw the potential to get Bushiri going at Hibs. He was one of his main players and during that time Hibs turned down a big-money offer from French side Troyes. The Tottenham assistant coach admitted: 'I really believed in him when I took over. I was the first manager to play him regularly because I saw his potential was massive. 'That is why as a manager, along with the club, we turned down an offer from a French club for him. I was really keen on re-signing him but that never materialised.' It was all very bizarre because Bushiri had been up on loan from Norwich City and Hibs were going to send him back but an administrative blunder meant they missed the deadline and they had to sign him permanently and he failed to nail down a regular top team spot under Shaun Maloney or Lee Johnson Montgomery admitted: 'I was aware of the situation. When I came in I just saw he was a fantastic person, a good human being and he wanted to learn. 'He had all the raw potential and it was a case of somebody putting an arm around him. I did that from the moment I went in. 'We worked a lot on his attributes. I only have good things to say about him.' Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Where Liverpool's 10 forwards stand with Florian Wirtz becoming club record buy
Florian Wirtz is still expected to complete his transfer to Liverpool in the coming days, but where does that leave the attacking players currently at the club? Not just yet, Liverpool fans. But it should be soon. Florian Wirtz's switch to Anfield is still widely expected to be completed as all sides are hopeful over the deal, and once he's arrived the discussion will soon turn to just where he might play in the side. With flexibility a key element in Arne Slot's XIs, Wirtz's ability to play both in midfield and attacking roles will be key, but the prevailing wisdom is that the German international will take up a role in the centre of the action, either as a false 9 dropping into spaces and creating them for others or in a number 10 role advancing from midfield. So what does that mean for the other attacking players in a Liverpool side which seems set for an evolution despite just becoming Premier League champions? The past season saw six players fight for the three most advanced positions in Slot's side, while there are also four youngsters who have already tasted first-team football with the Reds on the books who would like to see more of it. So what would Wirtz's arrival, plus the potential signing of another forward, mean for all of them? And where do they stand in the pecking order? We've taken a look. Mohamed Salah We might as well start with the main man. Liverpool's decision to pay Salah the money he wanted for the next two years is a commitment that would have been more difficult for the club to sanction than many realise. As Salah himself has said since he signed his contract, there are policies in place at Liverpool when it comes to older players, but the sheer numbers posted by the Egyptian in his season of seasons made it almost impossible for the club to let him go. Salah will still be the fulcrum of the Liverpool attack for next season at least, with Slot's tactics slanted towards once again getting the best out of him. As the man himself said of his conversations with Slot: "You can see the numbers. Now I don't have to defend much. The tactics are quite different. I said 'as long as you rest me defensively I will provide offensively', so I am glad that I did. He listened a lot and you can see the numbers." Liverpool will bank on seeing them again. Cody Gakpo He won't go as far as saying that he was glad to see the back of Jurgen Klopp, but the arrival of Slot has given Gakpo more certainty over his position in the team, and it has been striking to see how he has never shifted from the left flank under his compatriot. The close season has brought news of surprise interest from Bayern Munich in the former PSV Eindhoven man, but it would take a huge, and unwelcome, bid for Liverpool to consider selling a player who is coming into his prime at 26. After perhaps being a little reserved at first Gakpo is coming into his own as a character at Liverpool - as Joe Gomez's photo of him with a cigar next to John Henry's wife Linda Pizzuti at the title parade shows - and he should still be seen as a key man going forward. Luis Diaz Now this is where things start to get interesting. Diaz has two years remaining on his Liverpool contract, and right now the only thing you can say with relative certainty is that he won't sign a new one. The Reds may opt to extend the Colombian's stay by a year in order to give him a well deserved pay rise as he isn't currently anywhere near the biggest Anfield earners, but it is much more likely that his stay is allowed to run its course until the end of his contract in 2027. The 28-year-old has been one of the architects of the title win and arguably did more than anyone in the season's opening weeks to show that life would go on without Klopp, but Liverpool aren't afraid to extract the maximum from a player before letting them leave for free, and as long as Diaz keeps performing then that seems the most likely outcome right now - barring a huge offer for his services. Darwin Nunez He's been a player who has divided opinion for much of his time at Liverpool, but right now you'll struggle to find a Reds fan who thinks Nunez should still be at the club beyond this summer. The Uruguayan's last league start came against Southampton in early March, and while his impact that day - he scored and won a penalty - showed just what he can do when he's on his game, those performances have been sorely lacking for a while. Slot's denial that there was an agreement in place which meant Liverpool would have had to pay Benfica an extra £5m should Nunez have started one more league game didn't convince anyone, and when that is exactly what came to pass he's now hovering around the exit door. Liverpool will have a price for him, and they'll very much hope it is met. Diogo Jota Perhaps the most intriguing name on the list, there's a bit of a wait and see element to Jota's summer, but such as been his impact at the club then Liverpool are unlikely to be too perturbed by that with two years left on his deal. This is a man who has just completed his fifth season at Anfield, has 65 Liverpool goals and is a popular member of the team, so there will be no rush to get him out of the door despite a disappointing season in which he was hampered by a rib injury against Chelsea in October. He still managed crucial winning goals against Crystal Palace and Everton and a key equaliser at Nottingham Forest, and the sense is that Liverpool will hope to get him right for another go under Slot in pre-season. If a good offer were to arrive though... Federico Chiesa He wouldn't have wanted his biggest impact at Liverpool thus far to be an extremely catchy song, but we are where we are with the Italian. Chiesa has never really seemed up to speed for Liverpool life, but in his defence he had been frozen out by Juventus prior to his move and never had a pre-season to speak of. If he's still around by the time the Reds return then Slot will seek to put him through his paces and see if he can be a bit more use next time around. A quick flip and a sale back to Italy remains a very large possibility as well though, and as with Diaz and Jota, although perhaps a bit more willingly, you sense it will just be a case of seeing what transpires. Jayden Danns Three goals in nine senior Liverpool appearances isn't bad going at all, and it was easy to see why Sunderland thought Danns could add to their promotion push when they took him on loan in January. Sadly though, he never kicked a ball for them. Injury decimated the forward's loan just as it had done a previous planned switch to Plymouth Argyle, and so getting the 19-year-old some first-team action will surely be the plan from here. Sunderland are still interested, but after their promotion it might be best to send Danns to the Championship. Ben Doak Speaking of the Championship, Doak excelled there with Middlesbrough last season before a cruel injury ended his campaign in January and severely hampered Boro's promotion hopes. Doak impressed enough to become the subject of some serious interest from Premier League sides, and Liverpool might decide to cash in should the offer prove tempting. Another loan is also a possibility. Lewis Koumas He didn't get the headlines Doak did, but Welsh international Koumas played almost double the amount of games and scored double the amount of goals than the Scot did in the past season, and he's become a regular in his country's squad too. That doesn't mean he qualifies to go straight into the Liverpool side though, and it might be that the 19-year-old is given another loan spell, potentially in the Premier League, to ascertain the heights he could reach. Rio Ngumoha The baby of the group, Ngumoha won't turn 17 until late August and so there won't be any expectations placed upon him just yet despite his immense promise. The teenager will hope to feature during pre-season and build on his 71 minutes in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley in the coming campaign, with Slot only likely to introduce him to the first-team environment when he considers the time to be right.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Ex-Leverkusen chief discusses Florian Wirtz transfer and sends Liverpool warning
Liverpool are hoping to wrap up a deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz but have so far been unable to agree a fee with the German club, who have quoted the Reds around £126m Former Bayer Leverkusen chief Rudi Voller has admitted Florian Wirtz wants to join Liverpool, but warned the Reds that the move could "take a while". Arne Slot has identified Wirtz as his number one target this summer but the German side are demanding around £126million. Wirtz is one of Europe's hottest properties after dazzling in the Bundesliga in recent seasons and registered 16 goals and 13 assists in all competitions this season as Leverkusen finished second. Liverpool have already seen two bids rejected for Wirtz by Leverkusen, with talks ongoing, and it is expected that an agreement will eventually be struck after Manchester City and Bayern Munich pulled out of the race for the 22-year-old. Wirtz teased he was keen to join Liverpool this week after being asked by a reporter if he was "excited" to move to Anfield. The Germany star simply nodded his head as he added fuel to the fire. Now Germany legend Voller - who left his role as sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 after 17 years - has given insight into the discussions. Voller, who also took the same role at the club for four years between 1996 and 2000 before a brief stint as manager, believes Wirtz is eager to make the move to Liverpool and feels it will go through eventually. But he warned Slot and Co the transfer could take some time. "It's no secret that he'd like to go to Liverpool. I know the clubs are negotiating with each other,' 'It's often the case that it takes a while until an agreement is finally reached. "Of course, in the end, you have the feeling it will go through. Florian Wirtz has proven that he is a very, very valuable player. Not only for Bayer Leverkusen but also for the national team. That's why he costs a few euros more." Voller was at the club when Wirtz joined from Koln at the age of 17 and the player has gone on to make 197 appearances for the team, scoring 57 times. He was a key part of their historic 2023-24 season as they won the Bundesliga for the first time in their history and also lifted the German Cup. Wirtz started for Germany in their 2-1 Nations League semi-final defeat to Portugal on Wednesday despite ongoing speculation over his future - but boss Julian Nagelsmann insists he has not been distracted by it. "Flo will play," Nagelsmann said ahead of the game, which saw Wirtz score Germany's only goal. "I don't sense any fear of injury or anything with him. He's a competitor who wants to play and be successful with us." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
