Irish Premiership: 'I don't want to outstay my welcome' - Healy after Linfield win title

Newly crowned manager of the year David Healy says he "wants to go out on a high" after guiding the club to a 55th Irish Premiership title.

The Blues lifted the Gibson Cup on Saturday after a 2-0 victory over Cliftonville.

The title was Healy's fourth in five seasons since taking charge of the Windsor Park club in 2015.

"I will sit down with the chairman and see where we are at. I wouldn't want to outstay my welcome," said Healy.

Christy Manzinga and Andrew Waterworth, on his final appearance for the club, scored the goals at Solitude to set off Linfield's title party.

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Healy was named as the NI Football Awards manager of the year for the third time on Sunday after guiding the Blues to the 25th double in their history.

"I'm a proud Blueman and you are even prouder when you are successful. I probably didn't think I would be in the job as long as I am today," added Healy.

"I will enjoy today, and next week. I will have a 10-day break and then we will probably be back for pre-season in the middle of June for the start of another hectic year of European qualifiers."

Waterworth is not the only-profile departure from this Linfield this summer as the club switch to a full-time model. Shayne Lavery is expected to move to a club in England or Scotland while Joel Cooper will return to Oxford United.

Mark Haughey and Mark Stafford will also depart the club while there are question marks over the future of fellow centre back Jimmy Callacher.

"We put a lot of hard work into the last 12-18 months in terms of the strategic plan," added Healy.

"We have a lot of work to do. When you see the calibre of player we are losing, it's important to have the right people in the dressing room."

"I have seen previous managers of Linfield who have been successful and moved on. I don't want to be that.

I want to go out on a high eventually. When is that? It could be a long way ahead, we have to wait and see."

Linfield end season on top

With star striker Lavery on the bench, Manzinga missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the early stages when he took the ball off the toes of Odhran Casey on the 18-yard line however the forward took one touch too many which allowed Declan Dunne to race out and save his effort.

The game may have been a dead rubber however both sides played with plenty of adventure at Solitude. Paul O'Neill fired into the side netting after some neat link-up play with Ryan Curran and Ronan Doherty before Manzinga forced a near-post save by Dunne after being picked out by Navid Nasseri.

Linfield were given a brief scare when Curran's shot deflected off Jimmy Callacher and looped onto the top of the crossbar but the Blues' title party was started when Manzinga broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.

Jamie Mulgrew found Andrew Waterworth with an excellent through ball but the forward, on his final Linfield appearance, saw his effort kept out by Dunne. However Manzinga reacted quickest and tapped the ball home from close range to give David Healy's men the lead at the break.

Linfield almost doubled their advantage moments after the restart when the ball ricocheted about in the area and Waterworth pokes the ball towards goal. It looked like it was drifting wide but Manzinga's striker's instinct kicked in and he tapped the ball home from an offside position.

There was a big boost for Cliftonville as Joe Gormley made his first appearance since the start of January after recovering from an elbow injury, and the forward forced Johns into a smart save moments after coming on.

Johns had to be alert to keep out Michael McCrudden moments later save but the night belonged to Waterworth, who scored on his final Linfield appearance with 10 minutes to play.

Matthew Clarke played a low ball in and Waterworth, as he so often has, swivelled and found the top corner with an exquisite finish before celebrating in front of the Linfield supporters in the away end at Solitude.

In a poignant moment which marks the end of an era for the Blues, Mark Haughey and Mark Stafford - who have both played a key role in David Healy's title-winning sides - came on for what is likely to be their final Linfield appearances before Waterworth was replaced to standing ovation by Shayne Lavery, who is also set to depart Windsor Park after a superb season for the Blues.

There were emotional scenes at full-time as captain Jamie Mulgrew lifted the Gibson Cup as Linfield celebrated their 55th Irish Premiership title.

Watch the goals from Saturday's final round of Irish Premiership fixtures here