Linfield must hit back with all eyes on us after Cliftonville woe, warns Kyle McClean

Linfield must respond to their shock defeat to Cliftonville by putting in a performance against Glentoran that shows they are still the team to beat in the Danske Bank Premiership, says defender Kyle McClean.

The Blues suffered their first league defeat of the season on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 at Solitude, with McClean admitting that Cliftonville were the better side on the day.

"Cliftonville were the better team on the day and deserved to win," said McClean.

"They were hungrier than us and wanted it more. We need to learn from this and make sure it doesn't happen again."

McClean believes that Linfield have the quality to bounce back from their defeat and retain their league title.

"We have a lot of quality in this squad and we know that we can beat anyone on our day," said McClean.

"We need to show that against Glentoran on Tuesday night. We need to put in a performance that shows we are still the team to beat in this league."

Linfield will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to Cliftonville when they take on Glentoran in the Danske Bank Premiership on Tuesday night.

The Blues will be without the suspended Chris Shields for the game, but McClean is confident that they have the quality to cope without the midfielder.

"Chris is a big player for us, but we have other players who can come in and do a job for us," said McClean.

"We need to show that we are a team and that we can win without him."

Glentoran will be looking to make it two wins out of two in the league this season after they beat Carrick Rangers 2-0 on Saturday.

The Glens will be without the injured Hrvoje Plum for the game, but manager Mick McDermott is confident that his team can get a result against Linfield.

"Linfield are a good team, but we are confident that we can get a result against them," said McDermott.

"We need to be at our best, but we know that we can cause them problems."