Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
N talks to Ballinamallard recruit RICHARD CLARKE
over his services.
Back then, the young Newry City skipper, who had been handed the armband at the age of 19, was the hottest property in the Irish League.
Bury, Barnsley, Gillingham and Sheffield United had all had a good look at the teenager, inviting him over for trials, but the one-year deal on the table from Bury offered him little by way of job security, with Clarke ultimately resolving to throw his lot in with Alan Mcdonald. The Glens would never hit the heights of that title-winning campaign of 2009 once Clarke joined, but he did get his hands on silver- ware in the shape of an Irish Cup, League Cup and County Antrim Shield, and remembers his time at the Oval fondly. He said: “I weighed things up and just decided to try and make a career for myself in the Irish League and thankfully I have.
“It was difficult at Glentoran but at the same time it was good for me and helped me a lot because mentally it made me stronger.
“There was a lot of competition for places and it made me hungry and obviously I won a few major trophies there as well which gave me a taste for more.
“So I had nothing but good times at Glentoran, even through the financial situation there at the time which was well documented. I knew myself it was time for a move when it came about but I have a lot of good memories from Glentoran.”
Clarke made his debut for the Mallards on Saturday, a 2-1 home loss to his old club decided by a controversial late Curtis Allen strike.
Arguments over the handball aside, Clarke felt the visitors were just about worthy of the win.
“Overall, we’re probably disappointed with how we played,” said Clarke. “I think Glentoran were the better side, they probed more and they were a bit more of an attacking threat in the final third.”