Cliftonville's Gormley on Ronaldo and Messi's tails

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 36 league goals this season, Lionel Messi 32, but there is a third player vying to be 2014/15's top domestic marksman – Cliftonville FC striker Joe Gormley.

'Joe The Goal' hit his fifth hat-trick of the campaign against Portadown FC last Saturday to take his Northern Irish Premiership tally to 29. The penalty-box predator also ecliped his personal best of 37 goals in all competitions set last term – he is now on 39. "Cliftonville brought me here to score goals and that's what I try to do," said the modest 25-year-old, who has amassed 120 goals in 180 appearances for the Reds since joining from amateur outfit Crumlin Star FC in 2011.

Only three other Cliftonville players have scored more in the club's history – Kevin McGarry (170), Chris Scannell (153) and Syd Over (127). "It's great to set records and it means a lot to go down in Cliftonville history," Gormley said. "But if I'm being honest, personal records don't really mean a lot to me. People always want to talk about my stats and they tell me I score a goal every game and a half, but I don't really focus on that. My thoughts are always on the next game and just trying to score goals."

Gormley got ten league goals in his first year with the Reds, mainly as an impact player from the bench, yet has taken the Northern Irish Premiership by storm in the past three seasons. He scored 17 in 2012/13 and 27 the following campaign as Cliftonville secured back-to-back championships for the first time in their 136-year history. Tommy Breslin's men will relinquish their crown to north Belfast rivals Crusaders FC or Linfield FC later this month, but Gormley still has a lot to play for in their remaining three league games.

As well as helping the Reds to secure third place and automatic qualification for next term's UEFA Europa League, he also has his sights on a 40-goal campaign in all competitions. "The only target I set at the start of a season is to better the number of goals I scored the previous season," he said. "I got 37 last season, so my aim was to better that, but now that I've done that I'd like to score more. I set my sights on 40 a couple of months back, so hopefully I can reach that milestone."

Such statistics are hard to ignore, and Gormley is still hoping for the chance to prove himself in full-time football in England or Scotland. "I've always dreamt of going across the water," he said. "It would be a challenge but I feel I would still score goals. Since I've been young, I've always had an eye for goal. It's just something I've been able to do. I don't overthink things and I always back myself in front of goal. The way I look at it, the size of the goals is the same across the water."

Top scorers in 2014/15 European domestic leagues
36: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)
32: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
29: Joe Gormley (Cliftonville FC)
27: Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town FC)
26: Jordan Owens (Crusaders FC)
25: Edison Tarabai (Hibernians FC)
24: Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais)
23: Jonatan Soriano (FC Salzburg)
22: Andrej Kramarić (HNK Rijeka/Leicester City FC)
22: Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC)