Marcus Kane admits “we’re all hurting” after Glentoran’s poor Premiership start – but is clear “there’s certainly no panic” inside the changing room as they look to put things right.

The Glens have lost three of their opening five league matches of the current campaign and head into Saturday’s clash with Bangor on the back of consecutive defeats to Crusaders and Larne.

Fine margins have been the story of their season to date with all three defeats coming by one goal, but defensive errors have cost The Oval outfit dearly.

Declan Devine’s side are aiming to end the club’s 18-year wait for Gibson Cup glory in 2027 and can’t afford to lose further ground on their title rivals with Coleraine opening up a seven-point gap – which could grow further when the Bannsiders host Ballymena United on Friday.

placeholder image — Glentoran captain Marcus Kane. (Photo by Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press)

“No one likes losing games and I can assure you that we’re all hurting because we don’t want to be in this position, but there’s certainly no panic,” said Kane. “We know it hasn’t been good enough and that it needs to change, but the only way we can change it is by picking up results.

“We’re all working hard to turn this around and we know that every one of us can do a little bit more to help achieve that.

“The important thing is that we’re sticking together and working through it. That’s the only way you can respond.

“If you look back at last season, we had a difficult spell around November and December when we were dropping points.

"We put it right, went on a fantastic run into the new year and beyond, and never looked back.

“There is a real belief within the squad and coaching staff that we can do that again. We just need to string a few results together.

“You don’t get handed anything in this game. The Irish League is so competitive that anyone can beat anyone on their day.

“Consistency has to be the key word for us now. Picking up points regularly has to be the objective.

“It has been a challenging start, given the games we’ve had and the key players who have been missing, but we won’t use any of that as an excuse.

“The responsibility rests with us as players. We know what we need to do and I can assure the supporters that we’ll be doing everything we can to turn this around.

“It’s vital that we pull together, get ourselves back on track and kick-start our season.”

Kane retains full confidence Glentoran are capable of quickly transforming their Premiership fortunes – but knows mistakes have to be cut out.

“Of course we can turn things around,” said the captain. “First and foremost, we’ve got to stop giving away poor goals.

"We’re conceding really poor goals at the minute and that’s obviously disappointing.

“It’s not about any one individual. It’s something we have to address as a team because, as a unit, we’re giving away goals that we shouldn’t be.

“We need to get that right first and foremost and hopefully get a few players back over the next couple of weeks. Then we can start picking up results and moving in the right direction.”