Irish Premiership: Declan Devine leaves Glentoran after two and a half years

Declan Devine says it was a "tremendous honour" to manage Glentoran as he and the club part ways by mutual consent.

Following a poor start to the Irish Premiership season, an agreement over his departure was reached on Monday with the Glens winless in their past three league games, sitting eighth in the table with seven points from their opening six fixtures.

Devine's last game in charge was a frustrating 1-1 draw with Bangor at the Oval on Saturday and the full-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos from the home faithful.

Speculation mounted throughout the day that Devine was to depart the Oval which was later confirmed.

"After a great deal of reflection and conversations with Ali [Pour, owner], we agreed that the time is right for me to step away and for someone else to take the club forward," Devine said in a statement.

"I would have loved to have achieved more, but I am proud of what we have built over the past two and a half years. There were incredibly fine margins, with two BetMcLean Cup finals decided after extra time and a league challenge last season that went to the final day. Ultimately, we fell short and nobody is more disappointed about that than me.

"I believe there are strong foundations in place, both on and off the pitch, for the next manager to build upon and take the club forward."

Former Glens goalkeeper Devine took over at the 23-time league champions initially as interim boss in March 2024 after Warren Feeney was sacked.

He was given the role as permanent boss the following month and guided Glentoran to the County Antrim Shield in the 2024-25 season, their first trophy in five years.

But, despite significant investment in the playing squad, they have finished no higher than third under Devine and fell to defeat in back-to-back BetMcLean Cup finals against Cliftonville and Linfield in 2025 and 2026.

Paddy McCourt and Tim McCann will assume responsibility for Glentoran's Premiership game against Coleraine on Tuesday as the club begin the search for their fourth manager since January 2023.

Devine thanked Pour, the players and all at the club and has encouraged the supporters to back whomever is next.

"I understand your expectations because I know what this club means to you," he contnued.

"You want Glentoran to compete, to win and to be successful, and I leave wanting exactly the same thing.

"I hope you will get behind the players and the new manager and help them deliver the success this club deserves.

"I am immensely proud to have represented Glentoran as both a player and manager. This club will always mean a great deal to me and I leave wanting nothing more than to see Glentoran succeed."

Pour expressed his "appreciation" for Devine's efforts but agreed "the time was right for a change" after a slow start to the season.

"I know how difficult those conversations have been and I have enormous respect for the way Declan has handled them," said the Glentoran owner.

"Our ambitions remain clear. We have invested significantly in the playing squad and our football operation because we expect Glentoran to compete consistently for the biggest honours. The start to this season has fallen below those expectations and the standards required at this club. Our expectations will not change.

"Declan leaves with my gratitude and enormous respect. He is a man of great integrity who has given everything to Glentoran and I have valued enormously the relationship we have built during his time as manager. I wish Declan and his family every success for the future."

Devine the latest boss unable to transform Glens' fortunes - analysis

Glentoran owner Ali Pour warned on Saturday that the pressure was on Devine to deliver this season.

Pour explained that Devine had at his disposal a squad that he had "hand-picked" after being provided with "the biggest budget of any manager".

But, as has been the case for much of Pour's time at the club, big spending off the pitch has not returned success on it.

Pour was in attendance for Saturday's drab draw with Bangor when supporters certainly made their feelings clear.

Despite an inconsistent campaign last season, the Glens were in control of their own destiny in the title race with two games to go.

Knowing two wins would secure a first title since 2009, they drew 0-0 at home to eventual champions Larne before they were then thumped 6-2 by Coleraine on the final day, with the Bannsiders pipping them to second spot.

Disappointment from the previous season has perhaps seeped into the current campaign as they were knocked out of Europe at the first hurdle by RFS and then lost to rivals Linfield and suffered back-to-back defeats against Crusaders and Larne.

The loss of midfielder Cammy Palmer in the summer has been keenly felt, while injuries have hampered Devine in the early part of the new season too.

They have struggled for a focal point in the absence of last season's top scorer Pat Hoban, while new signing Conor McMenamin will need time to ensure his second stint at the Oval lives up to the expectation established by his brilliant first spell.

The Glens still have a talented squad for whomever comes in next, but they will have to change the mentality of the players, who Devine's assistant Tim McCann said on Saturday needed to start taking "accountability" for their "unacceptable displays".

With ground to make up already in the title race, Glentoran supporters will hope that the new boss can quickly spark a new manager bounce to inject some life into what has been a listless campaign.