Rory Hale determined to make up for lost time with massive European carrot waiting for Cliftonville
The Cliftonville captain was forced to sit out the Reds' European adventure last season due to injury as they lost out to FK Auda in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
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After that disappointment Hale is raring to this time around with a meeting with the League of Ireland side the carrot for navigating past St Joseph's of Gibraltar.
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"I love playing in Europe every single year," said Hale. "Obviously, last season I missed the two games against the Latvian team because of injury, so, I'm definitely ready on a personal level to go out and put on a good performance.
"Hopefully we can go on and win the tie because what a massive incentive it is to get the Shamrock Rovers in the next round.
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"It is a huge carrot and it's there for us if we want to go and do it. It's only up to us. This group loves playing in the big games.
"We've had the experiences in the last couple of years, so it's a big incentive to go out and get a result.
"If we want to be playing in the big games, I want to be playing in the big games and what a tie that could be with Shamrock Rovers."
Hale know they cannot afford to take things lightly against St Joseph's as they have shown they are more than capable of getting a result over the two legs.
"I don't know much about them but I do know that they ran Shelbourne close last year, who went on to win the League of Ireland, so they're obviously not a bad side," he said.
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"They only lost their league goal difference too, so they must be a good outfit. It's going to be a really tough test for us, but it's one of those games where they'll be fancying themselves and we'll be fancying ourselves."
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