Glentoran legend 'really hopeful' for the future with 'heart on his sleeve' Declan Devine changing mentality
Glentoran legend Barney Bowers admits he’s “really hopeful” for the future under Declan Devine and believes he has changed the mentality at The Oval.
Devine ended the club’s near five-year wait for silverware on Tuesday as his side defeated Larne in a dramatic penalty shootout to lift the Co Antrim Shield – a result which extended Glentoran’s unbeaten run across all competitions to 11 matches before another weekend win at Loughgall.
The former Derry City chief, who won an Irish Cup crown during his time as a player in East Belfast, undertook a squad overhaul ahead of the current campaign with 16 senior stars departing while 10 arrived last summer.
Many of those have been success stories, including the likes of Danny Amos, Dan Gyollai and Frankie Hvid, and Devine will be hoping to further add to the club’s trophy collection in March when the Glens face Cliftonville in the BetMcLean Cup showpiece decider.
They’re also fighting for an automatic European spot in the Premiership, currently sitting second behind Linfield, and while Bowers knows there’s still a long way to go, it’s hard not to be positive for the future.
"Decky has proved that if you're not putting the work in you'll be on the bench or left out of the team,” he said. “He's not afraid to make those big decisions.
"The last few years there have been guys on big money so the automatic choice is you have to play them because they're not paying them that money to leave them out of the team.
"The whole mentality has changed in the group and it's great to see. I think there's still a long way to go but you can see the team taking shape in terms of how they want to play.
"There's a lot of raw material in there but it's a work in progress and with the right coaching they can only improve. They had a few setbacks earlier in the season and they've responded well. I'm really hopeful for the rest of this season."
Devine has reaffirmed many times that commitment and desire are considered non-negotiables for him and Bowers feels he’s bringing the same mentality he had as a player into the dugout.
"Decky was the same when he played - he wears his heart on his sleeve and demands 100% of himself and the players,” he added. “He played in a winning team at Glentoran and had a good career.
"He has Paddy McCourt there who had a great career, Tim McCann won a lot of trophies, Elliot Morris too - that's a great backroom staff and hopefully we're on the up.
"I think the mentality of the players has changed. Decky has his own players in too but it's a very young group and he has probably found that the young lads are really buying into what he's trying to do.
"After they beat Linfield two or three times the supporters started to really feel that change was happening and the attitude of the players was different.
"It's all about attitude. You can have all the best players in the league but if their attitude isn't right then you'll get nowhere with them.
"I never was one to get carried away because you constantly need to keep improving. It'll be interesting to see over the next few weeks how they handle winning that trophy."