WATCH: 'We've surprised ourselves this season - now we want to finish in style' : Jonny Addis on Ballymena's European ambitions
Centre-back is guest on latest footy show along with Linfield's Andy Mitchell
Last updated 18th Apr 2019
Ballymena’s Jonny Addis reckons they overachieved this season – in competing with Linfield for the title.
While the Blues made sure of the Gibson Cup with three games to go, the Sky Blues ran them close for most of the campaign.
Addis believes they surprised even themselves.
“We’ve overachieved but now as you’d expect, there is a disappointment in the camp,” he said.
“We went toe-to-toe the whole way and we knew we could compete with Linfield.
“We beat them at home earlier in the year.
“The games here were narrow and the two games recently were hard fought as well. We went toe-to-toe the whole way so naturally, we’re disappointed.”
The centre-back is a guest this week on our latest BetMcLean Football Show (in partnership with NIFL) now available to view on Cool FM’s Facebook page (see link below) and to download as a podcast.
Addis says manager David Jeffrey wants them to bag a second-place finish – and, in turn, a ticket to Europe.
“He Jeffrey spoke to the media and always said that European football was the target,” he said.
“That hasn’t changed so from that point of view, that’s still very much the aim.
“We know that a couple of wins in these last three games will secure European football for us.
“So that’s the focus and last night in training that’s what he was putting across to the boys.”
Addis adds that they are determined, though, not to be a one-season wonder.
“Well, we’ve set the benchmark this season; we've beaten every team in the league,” he says.
“Coleraine was the last team that we hadn’t beaten up until a few months ago and we beat them away from home comfortably. We know that we can compete with anybody and it is a tight league. We saw last year with Coleraine going close, and this year having not quite hit the height, so it’s easier said than done.”
Also on the show is Linfiield midfielder Andy Mitchell.