Declan Devine delighted to finally have player who has 'consistently broken my heart' on his side at Glentoran

During Devine’s time managing in the League of Ireland with Derry City and Bohemians, Hoban was the standout striker, racking up 150 goals to become Dundalk’s record marksman and has topped the Premier Division charts on four occasions.

With Glentoran struggling to score goals – no team netted fewer on home turf than the Glens last season – Devine has now turned to Hoban as The Oval outfit seek success.

The 34-year-old, who also spent time in England at Oxford United and Mansfield Town, arrives in East Belfast after a frustrating 2025 campaign at Derry City, making only eight league appearances despite finishing as top scorer last term.

Having endured the difficult task of trying to stop Hoban in the past, Devine is now happy to have him in his ranks ahead of their Premiership opener against Portadown on Saturday.

"I’ve known Pat for a long, long time, been setting teams up against him, and he’s consistently broken my heart because of the way he plays,” Devine told the club’s media channel. “The pleasing thing for me is that everybody who knows Pat knows his mentality.

"It’s not just about playing on a Saturday. He wants things done properly, he has an aura about him that a lot of our young players can learn from and he has been a consistent winner throughout his career.

"When we sat down with Pat, he didn’t want to go to a club that wasn’t going to challenge for trophies and he can see we’ve an opportunity over the coming years to really be successful.

"He’s not coming here to put his feet up by any stretch – he’s made a big commitment and I’m delighted to have him because if you look through the top centre-forwards over the last number of years, there’s certainly one name at the very top and that’s Pat Hoban.”

Alongside Hoban, Devine has also brought Liam Burt, Jordan Stewart, Daniel Larmour, Ryan Cooney and Peter Urminsky to Glentoran this summer as they look to improve on last season’s third-placed Premiership finish, which resulted in them missing out on Europe.

The Glens have cast their scouting net across the United Kingdom in recent times, signing the likes of former Millwall defender Frankie Hvid last summer alongside Kodi Lyons-Foster, who has since joined Coleraine, and Devine insists he has full control on recruitment.

"Absolutely, 100 per cent, I wouldn’t do it any other way,” he added. “We’re constantly scouting and looking to improve.

"The minute this transfer window shuts, we’ll be looking at the next one to make sure we continue to build.

"We have to keep looking to improve, the players each year have to keep improving, I have to keep improving and everybody pulling in the one direction to make sure we get better.

"The nature of football is there’s somebody waiting to take your job, whether it’s mine or a player, there’s always somebody out there looking to take your spot.”