Mutual respect and shared goals for Linfield’s Jamie Mulgrew and David Healy

Mulgrew had been on the books at the Blues for a decade before Healy’s arrival in the Windsor Park dug-out, the latter just seven years his midfielder’s senior.

The mutual appreciation was evident minutes after the pair shared a second Irish Cup triumph to stand days away from a second domestic double.

“I think you see how successful we have been under him (Healy),” said Mulgrew. “We are going for four league titles in five years which is incredible...he has been key to that.

“When you look at where we were when David came in and what he has done for the club - in his first half-season we got to an Irish Cup final and, although we lost, no-one would have thought we would have got to that stage and since then we have been very successful.

“To be on the verge of winning another league, having won the cup this season, is fantastic.

“I have a great relationship with David, he has been brilliant for my career and I want him to stay at the club and continue to be a success.”

Healy described the commanding display against Larne by his 34-year-old captain as “incredible”.

“Jamie was incredible,” said Healy. “People talk about Jamie being on the wind down in his career...but (Fuad) Sule, (Mark) Randall, (Jeff) Hughes, (John) Herron (from Larne) have been talked about as some of the best players in the league, whereas some of our players maybe won’t even though we’ve won the Irish Cup and will hopefully add the league to that.

“Jamie has been outstanding, he’s got the personality to go on and manage Linfield

“He thinks I’m trying to pass the job onto him, he has similar characteristics to myself; we are hungry to win, we are miserable at times and moody, hard to be around at times.

“I speak to Jamie a lot as club captain and I know how much he loves the club...he knows what it means and he’s a born winner.”

Mulgrew described Linfield’s performance as ‘like wounded animals’.

“We knew we would have to perform well,” he said. “We looked like wounded animals and a team desperate and hungry to win a trophy to give us a platform to put ourselves in the history books of being a squad that wins a double.

“The older I get the more I appreciate it and I get more emotional because I enjoy playing for this football club.

“I give my life to the football club and have done for the past 16 years...I make sacrifices, my family make sacrifices.

“And that’s what it takes if you want to be successful and if you want to leave a legacy as an individual and as a team.

“I continue to want to be hungry and desperate to keep doing that.”

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