Chris Johns programme article
Posted : 12th November 2022
‘Look at Linfield’ catches up with goalkeeper Chris Johns in this issue, and the 27 year-old – who signed from Coleraine in 2020 – says he is hopeful that things are on the turn for the champions after a slow start to their League campaign.
“We haven’t really been great overall as a team. I don’t think I have hit my own personal standards either. Hopefully, we can all turn the form around because we are running out of time to keep up with the teams at the top who have been very consistent. Our form in recent weeks has showed an uplift and we want to kick on from that.
“It’s the same cliché as ever, though, and that is to take each game as it comes. That is how we operate – it’s not just a passing comment. When you are taking care of each match then that’s how you build form and momentum, and then the table will shape up accordingly. That’s particularly important when you have a busy schedule like we do now with eight matches in November.”
The Blues went through a tough spell last month where they conceded nine goals in three home matches, but the ‘keeper believes the four consecutive clean sheets since then can serve as a real boost to their confidence.
“It’s always good to keep clean sheets and to keep four in succession recently has been a boost for myself and the team because we had been conceding too many. When you have people like Jimmy Callacher here, it is invaluable. He’s been at Linfield a long time, won a lot of trophies and honours, and he’s a big leader in our changing room. When he’s on form, the whole team is on form.
“We were disappointed not to beat Cliftonville on Tuesday. We are always disappointed when we drop points. We felt we had the chances to win but just couldn’t get the all-important goal, although there were positives which we can take from elements of the performance.”
The former Coleraine goalkeeper now believes it’s imperative that The Blues make the most of having five of their next six fixtures at Windsor Park, making up for a run of ten consecutive away fixtures which came between August and October.
“We had a remarkable run of matches all away from home and now it’s balancing itself out with numerous home matches in recent weeks and in the coming weeks. We need to make it count and ensure Windsor Park is a fortress, just as it has been in my time and generally in the history of the Club. Linfield are renowned to be particularly strong at home.
“Glenavon are a good side and when they were here a few weeks ago they created several chances. Although we came back to win that night, we know from that match that we will need to turn up and perform if we are to get three points. They are in top form after great recent results against both Cliftonville and Glentoran.
“Disappointingly, we were beaten by Glentoran last month and we know we need to be on top of our game, if we are to get anything from the Shield semi-final tie against them. You don’t need anyone to motivate you for any 'Big Two’ derby, and we were disappointed to lose the Shield final last season against Larne, so these are two massive matches in a short space of time but we will give them our all as we always do.”
Chris showed what a fine shot stopper he is with his late save to preserve a point in the midweek scoreless draw against Cliftonville and he will want to maintain the team's recent run of clean sheets and help Linfield climb back into contention towards the top of the league table