Linfield manager David Healy: Albania is going to be hot, hostile and hectic in second leg showdown

Linfield manager David Healy played in Albania with Northern Ireland

David Healy has warned his Linfield players they will be thrown into a cauldron of fire when they travel to Albania this week.

The Blues will take a 3-1 lead to the city of Shkoder for the second leg of their Europa Conference League match against KF Vllaznia on Thursday night.

Linfield boss Healy experienced playing in Albania on a number of occasions as a Northern Ireland international and certainly doesn’t have happy memories.

He expects to be met with a hostile atmosphere and believes his players will face an almighty challenge in eastern Europe.

“It will be hot, hostile and hectic,” says Healy. “I’ve been there many times, and from past experiences, it wasn’t a nice place to go.

“Vllaznia brought a few hundred fans to Belfast, and I think we saw how vociferous and hostile they can be. It will be 100 times worse over there.

“But first and foremost, we must focus on ourselves. We must be professional on and off the pitch... we all have a job to do.

“I remember playing in Albania with Northern Ireland, when Nigel Worthington was in charge. The game was in the national stadium in Tirana.

“The home team looks after the balls, bibs, cones and any of the training gear. But when we arrived an hour before the game, we didn’t have anything ... no balls, bibs or cones — and that was actually only a friendly game.

“I’m not saying that Vllaznia are like that. Hopefully, they are different and reciprocate the hospitality we showed them.

“In saying that, I would imagine it will be a challenging journey. I have warned the players to prepare for whatever is thrown at us.

“I thought we were good in the first leg.

“Hopefully, we can get a similar work ethic to give