'It’s something as a nation and as a league we need'

Having started their season with wins over Ballymena United and Dungannon Swifts, victory over Glenavon on Tuesday night would see Linfield move nine points ahead of Larne before the defending champions have even kicked a ball in league action this season.

With the first leg of their Uefa Conference League tie against Lincoln Red Imps to come on Thursday night, Tiernan Lynch's side are one step away from qualifying for the competition's group stages with their European involvement meaning their first league game is presently scheduled for 1 September.

Linfield's trip to Mourneview Park, to be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, is the third of five games the Blues could play before Larne return to domestic action but manager David Healy is not concerned about building a buffer over their title rivals.

"We'll worry about our game on Tuesday against Glenavon and worry about no more than that," he said.

"Normally a real difficult venue so we'll need to be good, we'll need to possibly be a little better than we were [against Dungannon]."

While focused on his side's own big game this week, Linfield midfielder Kyle McClean will be putting league rivalries to one side come Thursday night.

"I’m sure [Larne] will fancy their chances and as a league I think everyone else will sit back and have a close eye on it," he said.

"Good luck to them and, if they do it, fair play to them.

"It’s something as a nation and as a league we need [in order] to prove that the league is progressing, which I think it is."