David Healy has challenged his Linfield side to go down fighting as they bid to win a fifth league title in a row.
The Blues find themselves seven points behind leaders Larne with six games to play.
Healy's men have the chance to cut the gap to four when they travel to Dungannon Swifts on Friday night ahead of the Invermen's trip to Coleraine on Saturday.
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The Linfield boss says his team will keep fighting "until the bitter end".
"They are champions, and they are champions for a reason," he said.
“I know champions eventually lose games; champions lose titles. But there is a way to do it.
“If we have to hand over the title this year to a better team, by no means will we be delighted, but we’ll be humble.
“We are still in there fighting, Larne still have a hell of a lot to play for. We also have a lot to play for along with the likes of Cliftonville and the rest of the chasing pack, there are European places up for grabs.
“Good champions go down fighting, so we plan to fight to the bitter end, and we’ll see where that takes us.
"There is a lot of pressure still on every team. We’ll make people work for any successes they hope to achieve.
“If we win all our games, we’ll see where it takes us. If second is the best we can achieve this year, so be it, but we’ll be pushing in our last six games – they are six massive games.
“We’ll be trying to maximise the points from those over the next three or four weeks.”
Healy will be wary of going to Stangmore Park after the Swifts completed a league and cup double over Cliftonville in the last fortnight.
“They will be on an emphatic high as they are the only team to have beaten them twice at home," he said.
“Some people will put it down as a big shock, but it probably shouldn’t have been because of the performance they produced in the Cup.
“So, it’s now a huge game for us. When we do play before the rest of the teams (in the title race), we must make sure we take care of our job.
“We’ll be going down there to take three points, how we do it, I don’t care.
“It’s important when you do play before the teams in and around you in the table, you must go and win the game, that will be my message.
“I know Dungannon will have the Cup semi-final coming up the following week, but they are still fighting for survival in the league, so I’ve no doubt three points will be their priority.”
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