Andrew Mills highlighted the importance of Glentoran’s Irish Premiership fixture with Cliftonville on Wednesday night (Kick-off 7.45pm) as they look to bounce back from their BetMcLean Cup Final disappointment.

For the second year in a row the Glens suffered late agony in the showpiece final as Chris McKee’s penalty secured the cup for Linfield in front of a bumper crowd at the Clearer Twist National Stadium.

It was a sore one to take for the east Belfast side, who played well on the day but couldn’t make the vital breakthrough against their old rivals.

But Mills insists Glentoran now have to put all their focus into the remaining seven league games starting against the Reds on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately it just wasn’t to be for us on Sunday. I thought we played well on the day, we just weren’t able to make the breakthrough and then got hit by a late sucker-punch,” said Mills.

“It’s a tough one for us to take, especially after last year’s final, but it’s gone now and our focus has to turn to the remaining league games.

“We cannot afford to take our eye off the ball at this stage of the season as there is too much at stake for us.

“We have the chance to close the gap on Larne again to two points and we have to do everything we can to make that happen.

“But we will only make that happen if we go into the match on Wednesday night with the right focus and give it everything we have to go and get a result.

“There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. Now is the time to lick our wounds and go again. It’s probably good that there’s another big game coming up so soon as we can put all our focus on that.

“It’s tough after losing a final to be able to look at the positives, but I know once the dust settles the boss and the rest of the staff will have us focused on what we need to do.

“There are plenty of things for us to be positive about, but the best thing for us to do now is to go out and get another three points.”

Mills knows it won’t be easy against a Cliftonville side who have only lost once in their last four games, that coming in a narrow defeat at Coleraine on Saturday.

Prior to that Jim Magilton’s men had beaten Linfield, Portadown and Crusaders in quick succession after suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Glentoran.

Mills would love a similar score line again come Wednesday night but he feels Cliftonville will be out to inflict more pain on the Glens.

“We played very well that night at Solitude when we beat them 4-0 and I would love it to be as comfortable again this time around but I think we will be facing a Cliftonville side buoyed by their recent performances,” said the 32-year-old.

“Since that night they have won three games on the bounce without conceding a goal, including a 2-0 win against Linfield.

“I know they lost at Coleraine on Saturday but going by reports they played very well on the day and were perhaps unlucky not to have come away with something from the game.

“So I don’t think that result will affect them too much when they come to the BetMcLean Oval. In fact I think they will probably be relishing the opportunity to play us.

“They will probably be feeling it’s a good time to get us and hoping that we are maybe suffering from a bit of a hangover from Sunday.

“It’s up to us to go out and show them that we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves and that our focus is on the game in front of us.

“That’s the professional element we have to show now as there’s too much at stake, and we have come too far to let it just fall away now.

“It’s good that the game is at home too as I know our fans will be out in force again to get behind us as they will see the bigger picture as well.

“I know they will be hurting too but the good thing about football is there is always another game.”

Mills watched on from the bench on Sunday as Billy Crellin made his fourth appearance in the competition this season and the senior stopper was full of praise for the performance by the Blackpool native

“Billy has been superb all season in the competition and has played his part in Glentoran getting to the final,” said Mills.

“Not only has he made some excellent saves in the games he has played but he also produced the match-winning save in the penalty shootout against Cliftonville to take us into the semi-final.

“He had another great game on Sunday and made a fantastic save to deny Matthew Fitzpatrick at the start of the second half.

“That shows exactly what he is all about and that is the sort of quality he produces every day in training.

“We have a great relationship and we are continually pushing each other on, which is so important as we both benefit from that.

“The competition throughout the squad is so high and again that is vital if you are going to do something as a club as everyone knows they have to produce otherwise someone is waiting on the wings waiting to take your place.

“It’s healthy competition as well as we all want to succeed and we all want the team to do well, which ultimately is the most important thing.”

For Glentoran fans planning to attend Tuesday’s Sports Direct Premiership fixture against Cliftonville, match tickets are available to purchase at:  https://www.glentoran.com/tickets/home-tickets/