Jamie Mulgrew's defiant message as he embraces challenge laid down by Larne

Jamie Mulgrew has sent out a defiant message as he looks to next season and wrestling the league title off Larne.

Linfield came up short in their bid to lift the Gibson Cup this campaign with Mulgrew admitting they "shot themselves in the foot" with several results along the way. But rather than feel sorry for themselves the Blues captain says he is already looking forward to the challenge ahead defiantly stating anyone who doesn't feel the same "shouldn’t be here".

“Do we have the mindset and mentality to come back? Yes we certainly do," said Mulgrew. "I genuinely believe that and it will be an interesting summer for all the teams as there has been investment around the league.

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“I would imagine the challenge will be even tougher, not just for ourselves but for Larne as well with the money that is coming into the league. We have to embrace the challenge and look forward to it, if you can’t then you shouldn’t be here.

“I will be honest and say we shot ourselves in the foot with a few results we should have got. The two that stick in my mind are Glenavon away and Dungannon Swifts at home.

“That’s five points which is massive. You can go back to last Tuesday which was very frustrating and again, it shouldn’t have happened but those results in our sticky patch hurt us and cost us. The table doesn't lie, Larne finished top and those dropped points saw us lose our grip on the title."

Linfield can still end the season on a high by adding the Irish Cup to the BetMcLean Cup, which they won earlier this year. Mulgrew, who already has seven Irish Cup winners' medals to his name, is determined to make the most of it when they face Cliftonville next Saturday as he admitted he doesn't know how many more opportunities he will have.

“Yes we did fail in the league but we have an opportunity to finish the season on a high and give us belief moving into next season," he said. “If we win the Irish Cup who knows where it can take us.

“In my situation it could be my last Irish Cup Final, it can feel that way – hopefully not. There’s no point in shying away from that – it could be. That’s what we are paid to do. We are expected to be involved in major finals and fighting for major trophies."

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