Linfield defender Matthew Clarke insists he wants to keep adding to his medal haul after lifting every domestic trophy available during his time at Windsor Park.

The full-back has four league winners’ medals to his name, as well as toasting success in the Irish Cup, League Cup and County Antrim Shield.

However, he knows that success is demanded rather than craved in South Belfast as the Blues chase a fourth successive Gibson Cup this campaign.

“I definitely have that want and desire to win more trophies,” he said.

“At Linfield we know second place isn’t good enough and that’s the way the club works.

“Our demands are set extremely high and that’s what you want as you want to be successful and pick up as many medals as you can.

“We are constantly reminded that losing isn’t an option and thankfully my time here has been successful with the four league titles and other cup competitions.”

Clarke started his career with Glasgow Rangers and admitted moving to Ibrox fulfilled a boyhood dream – even though things came to an end after the Scottish side were placed into administration.

“At youth level, I moved from Omagh Town to Linfield and I spent a year there before signing for Rangers and that was a dream come true,” he added.

“I had offers from Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion but I wanted to wait as long as possible in the hope that Rangers would come calling as I couldn’t put them off any longer!

“Thankfully, everything got sorted and I moved over and there were other guys at the club from Northern Ireland like Chris Hegarty and Andrew Mitchell.

“My last year was tough as things were uncertain financially and there was even no money left for a pre-season tour.

“It was a strange set of circumstances and not a nice situation for everyone involved but it is great to see the club where they are today.”

The Artigarvan native would sign for Linfield in 2013 and revealed he has embraced the club’s switch to full-time football this season.

“It’s been a good transition from part-time football into full-time,” he continued.

“I started training full-time at the age of 16 so I have previous experience but then it took me two years to get used to the part-time aspect when I joined Linfield.

“I’ll be honest and admit I was considering my options as I couldn’t get my head around waiting all day until you trained at night at the beginning but I got used to it.

“Everyone at the club has bought into the idea of full-time and we hope to reap the benefits from it as quick as we can.”

Linfield moved top of the table after last night’s win against Ballymena United and Clarke is embracing a titanic showdown against Glentoran this Monday.

“We want to retain our title but we aren’t looking that far ahead yet,” the 27-year-old acknowledged.

“It’s all about staying as close to the top as we can and then we will enter the business end of the season after January.

“The winner will be the team who wants it the most and is the most consistent.

“You have so many good teams like Larne, Glentoran, Coleraine, Crusaders and Cliftonville who will all want to stay in the mix and challenge for the title.

“We will be concentrating on ourselves and trying to pick up maximum points as we push into the New Year.

“I have been lucky enough to play in many Boxing Day derby matches and they always have a great crowd.

“However, with how well both teams are doing this season, the crowd and atmosphere will be electric and the ‘Big Two’ derby is certainly back.

“We know they’re a good side but so are we and we are looking forward to it.”