CLIFTONVILLE manager Jim Magilton has revealed that he did not axe goalkeeper David Odumosu because of last Saturday’s 8-1 rout at Inver Park.
The Irish Cup finalists were humbled by reigning champions Larne, compounded by the dismissal of star striker Ronan Hale.
Odumosu was in goal and the 23-year-old from Dundalk was dropped to the bench for Tuesday night’s derby defeat at Seaview.
The Reds lost 2-1 to Crusaders but Magilton was pleased with an improved performance and a response from his players.
Nathan Gartside started in nets for Cliftonville for the first time since November and the Solitude boss revealed this was always the plan as Odumosu has been playing with a couple of knocks.
“David is another player who has been nursing a knee and a groin”, said the former Northern Ireland international midfielder.
“Obviously Saturday didn’t help but it was just time to take him out and let him watch.
“Sometimes watching a game is actually better than being thrust into it again so we have assessed the situation and will take a view for (tomorrow’s match against) Glentoran.
“If you ask David, one of the main reasons he has been on his toes is because of Nathan.
“Nathan trains hard, like any goalkeeper – any goalkeeper I’ve been around has been the hardest trainer in the club – and one pushes the other on.
“David has done so well because Nathan has been breathing down his neck and he’s an outstanding keeper, we are very fortunate to have two outstanding keepers.
“Sometimes it can be lonely as a No 2 because you think you might not play, but he was always going to play games towards the end of the season.”
Cliftonville have not won a game since beating Larne in the Irish Cup semi-final to set up a May 4 showdown with Linfield at Windsor Park, losing to the Inver Park side twice, drawing with Coleraine and losing to Crusaders.
Having qualified for Europe the focus is on that glamour final against the Blues, while the Reds have also had injuries to contend with in the last few weeks of a thrilling season.
It has already been a successful campaign for the north Belfast club with the potential to win the cup for the first time since 1979 still ahead, but the manager accepts there have been bumps in the road along the way.
The 8-1 drubbing left Cliftonville shell-shocked and Magilton insists the challenge is to react positively to adversity while revealing his own experiences of heavy defeats while playing for Southampton and Ipswich Town in the Premiership.
“I’ve lost a few games like that,” said Magilton, who took on the Cliftonville job last summer.
“At Goodison I lost 7-1 playing for Southampton, Man United, we got beat 6-3 at The Dell, beat at Portman Road when Liverpool scored six.
“As a group of players you have to be honest and sometimes it comes down to the quality of the opposition.
“You have to recognise the quality of Larne last Saturday, it’s hard enough with 11 players, when you go down to 10 you get punished and we got a beating, but you get back up again.
“This group of players has been outstanding this year. We’ve certainly had dips, there’s no question about that, but I think the realisation of qualifying for Europe, getting into an Irish Cup final has hit home for a lot of them, but there’s definitely a reset button for us.
“Saturday, if anything, was a wake-up call.
“Tuesday night was definitely a better all round performance, albeit we conceded poor goals, and the next game is about building on that performance.”
