Ballymena United 'bid farewell' to former Celtic midfielder after short spell with Irish League club

Herron, who previously spent time in the Premiership with Glentoran and Larne, joined the Sky Blues during the summer transfer window and was limited to just two league appearances, most recently coming off the bench in a 1-0 win over Cliftonville at Solitude last month.

The move to Ballymena marked an Irish League return for Herron after he had his Larne contract "terminated by mutual agreement" in 2022 after images of him at a concert wearing a T-shirt with a pro-IRA slogan appeared on social media and he was handed a 10-game suspension by the Irish Football Association.

Following spells in Australia and Gibraltar, Herron joined the likes of Josh Carson, Stephen O’Donnell, Daniel Lafferty and Ben Kennedy as new arrivals in what was a busy summer window for Jim Ervin, but has now departed the County Antrim outfit.

"After a short spell with Ballymena United we bid farewell to John Herron,” the club posted on social media. “We thank John for his time with us and he will always be welcomed back at the Showgrounds.”

Meanwhile, Ballymena have also announced the addition of Glenn Wilkinson, who was serving as Head of Physical Development at defending Premiership champions Larne, to the club’s backroom staff.

“We are pleased to announce Glenn Wilkinson as an addition to our back room staff,” they posted. “Glenn will come in as our strength and conditioning coach.

"Glenn comes to the club with an impressive CV and we look forward to what he can add to the club.

"He will help improve the club moving forward with our professional approach and have players in the best possible condition they can be in. Glenn will also introduce nutritional diets to help with the condition of our players.

"When we spoke to Glenn he was very much looking to be involved with Ballymena United and has the same vision as us. Welcome to Ballymena United.”