Michael Newberry's sad passing earlier this week stirred up the emotional memories of Ryan McBride's death for Dean Shiels once more.

Shiels saw first-hand the impact the sudden loss of the Derry City captain had on his father Kenny, who was the then manager of the Candystripes back in 2017.

The Coleraine boss knows there will be tough times ahead for everyone connected with Cliftonville as they come to terms with what has happened, and he said football is not important right now.

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"As a representative of Coleraine, we pass on our thoughts and prayers to everyone connected with Michael; his family, his friends, his former team-mates, his current team-mates," said Shiels.

"It's a difficult time and football is always secondary when it comes to things like that. I know that when my dad went through something similar with Ryan McBride, he lost his captain and I know how much that took his toll on him.

"My thoughts are with Jim Magilton and his staff. I hope that Cliftonville can respond to this because it'll take a lot of emotion out of them."

Meanwhile, Cliftonville have confirmed that Saturday's Irish Cup fifth round tie with Banbridge Rangers will go ahead as scheduled with the game being be preceded by a pre-match tribute in memory of Michael.

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