"He's one of the good guys": Glentoran boss Declan Devine hails work by Lee Feeney at promotion-chasing Bangor

The men from north Down boast an eight-point gap at the top of the Championship table as they edge closer to promotion, with H&W Welders the nearest challengers having played a game less.

Ahead of an Irish Cup meeting between the two clubs this weekend, Devine says Premiership football returning to the city would be a reward for the club coming through “a tough ride” during the last few years.

"Personally I'd love to see Bangor back in the top flight of football here again,” he said.

"They've had a tough ride as a club over recent years.

"Lee (Feeney) has done a fantastic job there. They are really well drilled and organised, and they are extremely hard to play against.

"We have relayed back to our players after the weekend. I was very glad to be able to have the Saturday off to go and watch their game.

"They have a lot of quality high up the pitch. Ben Arthurs is flying and they were able to bring people like Matthew Ferguson on in the second half.

"They also have a lot of experience at the back end of the pitch as well."

Devine, in particular, paid a special mention to Bangor boss Feeney who he labelled as “one of the good guys”.

He explained: "They look as though they will be heading back to the Premiership and I would love to see that.

"I'm delighted for Lee, he's one of the good guys, and I think he has a wonderful future ahead of him as a manager.

"Lee comes from a very experienced footballing family and he's been involved in the game for a long, long time.

"He looks to be enjoying it, which is a key thing and his team look to be enjoying him.

"They play with a lot of confidence and belief and have a good mix of youth and experience.

"Ben Cushnie played really well on Saturday. He's a player I know really well having come through the system at Glentoran.”

Bangor and Glentoran lock horns this evening for a spot in the last four of the Irish Cup.

Devine’s troops are yet to taste defeat in knockout competitions so far this season and he is eager for that trend to continue.

"We are under no illusions what will be waiting for us on Friday night. Tough surface, dark floodlights, small changing room...all the ingredients are there for an upset so we have to make sure we remain focused,” he stressed.

"It's live on the cameras too but we certainly don't want a giant killing act with where we are at this moment in time.

"We know we will have to be at our best to progress, there's no doubt about that.

"There's a lot of appetite for Bangor on Friday night, we know that, so we have to make sure we're right at the top of our game."