'Fantastic achievement' for Linfield to win title
Linfield won the Irish Premiership title on Tuesday after nearest challngers Glentoran were held to a draw by Larne
- Published
Linfield chairman Roy McGivern says it is a "fantastic achievement" for the club to win the Irish Premiership title with six matches remaining.
The Blues secured their 57th Gibson Cup on Tuesday after nearest challengers Glentoran were held to a 2-2 draw by Larne.
McGivern admitted it felt "a bit strange" not winning the title on the pitch but said there would be a "huge trophy presentation" at Windsor Park for fans to celebrate.
"We'll savour the success, it's been a very sweet one," McGivern told Good Morning Ulster.
"We haven't won the league for the past two seasons and there are massive expectations at Linfield.
"Huge credit to our manager David Healy, the staff and the players for this remarkable success."
Linfield's success ends the two-year run of Larne holding the Gibson Cup, and McGivern says his team want to "emulate" their rival's success by qualifying for European football.
Larne made history this season by becoming the first Irish Premiership team to reach the Uefa Conference League.
"There's no doubt when you reach the league phase of one of the European competitions then that is a massive challenge," McGivern said.
"I think we'll all learn from what has happened at Larne this season. From our point of view, I think you need to be playing domestic games as well as European games, but you have to balance your squad, a strong squad and invest in that squad.
"We'll embrace that challenge next year and try to emulate what Larne have achieved.
"It will be very hard getting through a number of qualifying games, but that's the challenge we face at Linfield."