EXCLUSIVE: 'We want to be playing full-time in next 2 to 3 years' : Linfield chairman on Blues big plans

Champions-elect Linfield are planning a move to full-time football, it emerged today (Friday).

In an exclusive interview with Cool FM, chairman Roy McGivern says the Blues are "seriously looking" at the prospect of going pro within several years.

"It'll possibly start with the best players coming out of the academy, with an education/football pathway, and then integrate the first team into that over a couple of years," he said.

" But I think within two or three years we want to be playing full-time."

McGivern was speaking as a guest on our latest BetMcLean show (in partnership with NIFL) which is now available to view on Cool FM's Facebook page (see link below).

Linfield have previously tried to make the move into a more professional set-up, to limited success.

But with Larne, Crusaders and possibly Glentoran heading in that direction, McGivern says Linfield need to react.

"It's certainly a really exciting time in the Irish League with all these developments, and we need to react to that.

"We had a experiment with full-time football a few years back, and it really didn't work out. "

But we are now looking seriously at it, and part of the reason is because we have Pat Fenlon. He's been tasked with looking at a model that will work for Linfield Football Club. It has to be a transition; it can't happen overnight."

Also on the show is Glentoran's Curtis Allen.

In the second half of the show we feature the women's game in Northern Ireland with both the Danske Bank Women's Premiership and the Northern Ireland Women's Football Association Championship seasons kicking off.

Crusaders' Julie Nelson and Linfield's Louise McFrederick feature from the Premiership with NIWFA secretary Colette Young representing Championship leagues.

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