Linfield are nowhere near reaching peak performance, insists boss David Healy

Linfield boss David Healy has demanded that his players continue to improve their levels

Linfield may be sitting proudly at the top of the Sports Direct Premiership table, but manager David Healy believes there is much more to come from the boys in blue.

Even though Healy’s team produced an exhilarating first-half performance against Crusaders at Windsor Park, when goals from Joel Cooper and Matthew Fitzpatrick heralded a valuable three points, the former Northern Ireland international striker insisted there is ‘room for improvement’.

“We are nowhere near where I want us to be,” he stressed in his post-match analysis. “I’m being totally honest, if we win a game by one, two, three or even five goals, I want it to be even more.

“We have started okay. We lost against Larne last week and we drew against Carrick... on paper, people will look at that as two points dropped.

“But we’ve beaten Cliftonville, a good outfit this year; Crusaders, who started the season pretty well; and Coleraine, who are never far away.

“It was well documented that our record against top six clubs last season wasn’t good enough.

“I knew that – it was something we needed to improve on. Apart from the Larne game, we’ve done that.

“But there are going to be so many ups and downs along the way. Personally, I think, and I hope we have, a few more gears to go. It may not happen immediately, but we’ll keep working at it.

“We lost the title last year, finished second in the table to get us into Europe and won the League Cup. At any other club, that would be gauged as success.

“But at Windsor Park, it is gauged as a below-par season. We want to continue to improve. We have a lot of new, younger faces in, so it will take time.”

Boss David Healy was pleased to