Mcdermott pays big tribute to Glens’ winning mentality
GLENTORAN manager Mick McDermott believes the days of accepting mediocrity at the Oval are over and puts that down to a change in mentality of the players.
Ahead of Thursday’s Europa League first qualifying round clash with Motherwell, Mcdermott has been discussing a new mindset at the club after their Irish Cup success in July.
He also revealed harsh words were said after a friendly loss to Coleraine prior to last week’s continental victory against HB Torshavn as the club returned to Europe for the first time since 2015.
“We were hard on them after a poor performance in a friendly with Coleraine, probably the poorest since I’ve been at Glentoran,” said Mcdermott.
“Maybe it came at the right time as a wake-up call. They were disappointed and were shouting at each other and it is a sign of where we have come from and where we are. The players are now disappointed with bad performances.
“Mediocrity is a habit and that was maybe the habit in previous years but now they don’t accept it. If you want to improve, you have to know when you are poor and they worked hard ahead of the game with Torshavn and got their rewards.”
Against HB, four of Mcdermott’s five summer recruits made their Glentoran debuts. Ex-motherwell star Gael Bigirimana and Gibraltar goalkeeper Dayle Coleing started with Luke Mccullough and Jamie Mcdonagh coming off the bench, with only Rory Brown not seeing any action.
While full of praise for the lathim. est arrivals, in reference to the victory over their Faroese foes, Mcdermott made a point of paying special attention to a player who joined in the January transfer window.
“I thought Seanan Clucas was outstanding,” said the Oval supremo (right).
“Since coming back after lockdown, I have to give him credit. He was one of the lads that trained the hardest knowing he couldn’t play in the Cup matches. He was the one pushing the players every day. If you want to talk about a team player, that’s He pushed the team to get them better for the Irish Cup and deserves a lot of credit and I was delighted for him with his performance.
“Gael has played at a high level and put in a great shift. He and Luke Mccullough haven’t played a game since February and for Jamie Mcdonagh it is a similar timeframe, so that gives you a sign of what’s coming. I think we have recruited well. “Dayle Coleing is a 23-year-old potential star. Hopefully he’s with us for a while but he has a big, big future ahead. He’s a giant and trains hard. He will make a big difference for us and wherever he ends up.”
Coleing has been called into the Gibraltar senior squad for next month’s internationals, while Caolan Marron, Paul O’neill and Chris Gallagher are included in the Northern Ireland under-21 panel. Asked if there will be more new signings, Mcdermott said: “Not necessarily. Every day is a test for these boys to show they have the capabilities to compete in the Irish League.
“If we feel we have to strengthen, we will strengthen.
“One of the biggest differences since I came in is we had a strong 14 or 15 but if some lads played well or badly they still played the next week. Now we have a situation if you don’t train well, you don’t play so that’s the competitive environment you need.” l CRUSADERS have completed the signing of former Stevenage midfielder Ben Kennedy.
The 23-year-old made 167 appearances for the League Two side in a six-year spell that ultimately ran out of momentum thanks to an unfortunate run of injuries and he was on loan at Newport County last season.
He has captained Northern Ireland at Under-19 level and played for the Under-21s, and has signed a three-year deal at Seaview that will see him wear the club’s number eight jersey.