We stuck together: Shiels

“The goal to win it was fitting to win any game,” he said.

“It was brilliant from Rhyss; he had been playing well and played well last week.

“He has been getting back up to full fitness and you can see that.

“He looks strong, he looks hungry and we are delighted with obviously beating the champions.

“I think Linfield have been the most outstanding team by some distance this year and to beat them twice recently is a huge achievement by us because they haven’t been beaten many times.

“Linfield had a really strong team out and I’m really proud of the players with how they stuck together.

“It’s been a long season in terms of what we’re trying to achieve here. I think the big turnover in the summer meant we had to put foundations in place but we knew there would be teething problems.

“We now look like a good team, we look strong and together heading into the play-offs.”

The Bannsiders won’t know their play-off schedule until after next weekend’s Irish Cup final but Shiels says his squad will work hard in preparation for whoever they lock horns against.

He stated: “As we move forward, we want to consistently keep the club in Europe.

“We are nowhere near that level yet but to even challenge, considering the pain we had to suffer at the start of the season was evident and we knew it was coming.

“I think since the start of the New Year we have been outstanding, built momentum and we look stronger as we go.

“It’s about trying to get over that final hurdle but we know it’s going to be tough because there’s a lot of good teams.

“There are permutations about who we might play but we will just focus on ourselves.”