On Saturday evening, following their team’s ninth defeat in the past dozen matches, a congregation of Glentoran supporters crowded outside the ground with a clear message – for first-team manager Mick McDermott to “get out of our club”. It was quite a shift in tone from earlier in the season, when the Glens started in electric fashion before a 2-1 defeat away to Glenavon kick-started their miserable recent run.
After a tumultuous end to last season, it felt as if the storm had calmed with their winning form. However, such serenity was only to precede a fresh downfall, and after going defeated for five successive league matches for the first time in 88 years, the east Belfast outfit has opted to install a new man to the hotseat. But what this episode reminds us is of one particularly important theme to fans here – transparency.
On Tuesday night, following their victory at The Oval to keep up their title charge, Larne were again celebrating.
Contesting their third County Antrim Shield decider in a row, they completed a much-sought three-peat when they saw off Linfield on penalties.
While the health and safety of Blues goalkeeper David Walsh was quite rightly prioritised in the thoughts of all in attendance, the 20-year-old suffering an apparent contact head injury for which he required at least 15 minutes of treatment, success for the Inver Reds on a cold and bitter evening at Seaview marks another shiny toy added to the cabinet since Kenny Bruce started investing in the portside club five years ago.
The camera cut to Bruce towards the game’s end. Sat with the supporters, he looked as immersed and anxious as any other.
Despite playing over an hour against 10 men – Linfield’s Kyle McClean sent off, perhaps harshly, for a lunge on Leroy Millar, before the Premiership champions’ manager David Healy and assistant Ross Oliver were also red-carded by referee Shane Andrews – the game was goalless and well-contested.
Settled would not be an apt word to describe the Larne owner’s posture. Invested certainly does.
The Inver Park institution went on to win the shootout as full time was effectively called early due to Walsh’s injury. Substitute Mark Randall calmly slotted by substitute shot-stopper Chris Johns and ensured the successful retention of the Shield for another year, the first time a non-Belfast club has defended the honour for three iterations in a row.
It has been a brilliant campaign so far for the Invermen, led by Tiernan Lynch, and although there was pressure on Lynch – who has guided the club throughout their journey to their present pedestal – from some quarters towards the end of last term when they finished 5th, there was little doubt from those at a boardroom level that he was the man for the job.
And they were open about it with the faithful, as they have been surrounding other issues that has helped create a harmonious atmosphere.
They have been clear, and delivered on their words, about wanting the work that goes into enhancing Larne’s standards to equally improve the town itself, to act in the interests of the local community.
Meanwhile, the scenes from the team they beat last weekend were anything but that. Improvement of a very different kind were demanded, let alone desired.
A couple of months ago, I penned a piece while they were thriving that pointed out that they had appeared to have learned their lessons from the past, and were busting their guts to build towards a genuine title bid with their external distractions shunted to one side.
That article has aged about as well as a chocolate teapot. Here, you can read it if you like, laugh your hearts out.
But the videos surfaced on social media on Saturday weren’t much of a laughing matter. They did not paint Glentoran Football Club in a good light.
Scuffles in the stands were addressed by the club’s website in the form of the following statement: “We understand the frustration and concerns. This does not however give anyone the right to break the law or make our ground an unsafe place for fans and officials. Incidents of violence, criminal damage and threats of harm occurred after yesterday’s match that are totally unacceptable.
“Over the next few days, we will be reviewing CCTV footage and taking statements from people who were present. Where we find individuals involved in violence, threats of harm or criminal damage we will act decisively in the interest of our club, our fans, our volunteers and our employees.”
Correct. Fighting in the stadium while a game going on does not do anyone any good, nor should it be condoned.
But vociferous protests after the game from large numbers armed with banners and balloons – the latter in reference to comments McDermott made following their Irish Cup fifth round victory at Moyola Park, where he insisted a minority of ‘balloons’ had been giving him abuse throughout the match at Mill Meadow – gave a distinct image of a club in disharmony.
The volatility may have played a hand in the Glens opting to appoint Rodney McAree as their new head coach, succeeding former Iran assistant McDermott whose duties will now be more boardroom-related.
McAree is a very capable manager in his own right. He enjoyed seven successful years at his hometown club Dungannon Swifts, which came to a high point in 2017 when he guided the Co Tyrone side to the European play-offs and an Irish Cup semi-final.
It was also under McAree that a Swifts player, for the first time ever, won the top goalscorer accolade, with Andrew Mitchell netting 25 that year.
But Glentoran is, as the incumbent boss will well know having worked in east Belfast for the last 18 months, a very different kettle of fish.
The protests were inspired as much by a sense that supporters feel they are not being listened to. Not even the arrival of Northern Ireland international Niall McGinn quelled these feelings of annoyance.
Maybe in the exceptionally globalised Premier League, you can get away with that. After all, for better or worse, you are one dot of thousands in the ground and a speck of sand amid the millions around the globe.
But not in Northern Ireland.
Identifying with those who back you in the stands, as well as the local community, is nothing short of essential. If there is discontent, the club will bear the brunt of it unless it is robustly and transparently addressed.
McDermott opting at times to send McAree or Tim McCann out to do post-match duties was spotlighted. A repeat of such with his successor would not be welcome. Through hard times and good, whether what you want to hear or not, honesty will hardly hurt your standing.
As it has shown at Larne. For Glentoran, this must be more than just a change in manager.
Featured image from Glentoran F.C. website.
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