Former Linfield goalkeeper admits Premiership move 'was too hard to turn down' after manager 'put a lot of faith in me'

Deane, who won two league titles during his time at Windsor Park, spent the past 18 months with Glenavon after joining in a swap deal that resulted in Rory Brown going in the opposite direction to Coleraine.

The 31-year-old made 19 top-flight appearances for the Lurgan Blues last term, but didn’t feature from November onwards with Mark Byrne and Tadhg Ryan sharing number one duties at Mourneview Park.

Deane almost made the move to Bangor in January before opting to remain at Glenavon and fight for his position, but when manager Lee Feeney rang again this summer, the offer was too hard to resist.

“It was an easy transition to make,” Deane told the club’s website. “I spoke to Lee in January, I thought it was maybe a possibility to come but I decided to stay and try and play Premiership football.

“When he rang me in the summer and guaranteed I’d be playing every week, it was too hard to turn down, to be honest.

“He’s put a lot of faith in me from January...he rang me in the summer and I knew it was going to be a pretty easy transition into the club.

“Game time is important to me – at my age, I’m not coming towards the end of my career just yet, but I want to play as much football as I can.

“I’ve played a lot of football over the last six seasons, and towards the last six months at Glenavon, I was maybe starved of football and I got that hunger back after a few months of sitting in the stands.

“When Lee rang and said you’re going to come in and be number one and play every week, it was too hard to turn down.”

Having made over 150 Premiership appearances, Deane will have an important role to play as Bangor prepare for life back in Northern Ireland’s top-flight for the first time since 2009.

Former Glenavon team-mates Mark Haughey and Robbie Garrett are also on the books at Clandeboye Park, and Deane admits he’s raring to go ahead of their season opener against Cliftonville on August 9.

“I think I add a bit of experience into a young changing room, I think that can go a long way,” added Deane. “There’s a big hunger in that changing room, and being at home in the first game of the season, it’s a big boost and I think the ground will be packed out.

“It’ll be an exciting day and, hopefully, we can get the three points and get the season going.

“It’s up to me to do my job on a Saturday and set good standards in training, I think it’s going to go a long way.

“It’s going to be a very exciting season – it’s a new challenge for me too, coming into a team that’s just been promoted.

“I sat down with my friends and my family, had a good conversation about it and everyone’s very excited about it...we’ll see how we get on.”