'I enjoy the challenge of being successful' - Linfield legend Jamie Mulgrew's desire for trophy glory remains strong as ever

Blues legend Mulgrew has won at least one of the three major trophies – Premiership, Irish Cup and League Cup – in 13 of his 19 full seasons with the club, a run which has already been extended this term after David Healy’s side collected the latter by beating Portadown in March’s finale.

Alongside making over 750 club appearances since joining in 2005, Mulgrew has been involved in seven separate Irish League-Irish Cup double triumphs, starting during David Jeffrey’s trophy-laden tenure before Healy picked up the baton to write his own chapter in the club’s history books.

The 37-year-old signed a new one-year contract extension in January which will see him lead the Blues into next season, where they’ll be looking to reclaim the Gibson Cup throne from back-to-back champions Larne, and the former Northern Ireland international is still enjoying the day-to-day challenge of trying to deliver success at Linfield.

"In my position, you're trying to put off the inevitable, you try and prolong your career as long as possible, and that's all down to putting the work, the effort in, and also having the right mentality,” he said. “I enjoy playing here, I enjoy the challenge of being successful and winning trophies and medals, I think that's the main goal and the excitement for me.

"No matter what age you are, people will write you off and say things. You might have a couple of mediocre games and they might think 'he's not a good player' or whatever it is, that's society now, that's part of the industry that we are in, so it's important that you have the mentality to prove people wrong.

“At the end of the day, in football that's what you're constantly trying to do – prove people wrong. I think we all know football is about opinions and you're not going to change that.”

The challenge of winning major trophies is getting harder and harder with Larne transforming into a dominant force, Cliftonville impressing in Jim Magilton’s first season and the likes of Coleraine are set to receive significant investment which could bolster their silverware ambitions.

"Do we have the mentality and the mindset to come back? Certainly,” added Mulgrew. “It'll be an interesting summer for all the teams in the league because there has been investment in other teams and I'd imagine the challenge will be even tougher, not just for ourselves, but Larne as well with the money that is coming into the league.

"I think we have to embrace the challenge and look forward to it because if you're not then you shouldn't be here. In my situation, this could possibly be my last (Irish Cup final) - I don't know. Hopefully it's not but there's no point shying away from it could be.

"We might have failed in the league, but we have an opportunity here to finish the season on a high and give us belief heading into next season. If we win the Irish Cup, who knows where it could take us?"