Glentoran youngster James Douglas is “determined to do everything I can” to nail down his spot in Declan Devine’s team next season – and is also relishing a first taste of European action this summer.

Douglas made 26 Premiership appearances during the 2024/25 season – his first full campaign in senior football – and also scored the winner in a BetMcLean Cup victory over Linfield as The Oval outfit reached the final.

However, the 20-year-old was limited to just nine league outings last term as Devine bolstered his squad with significant signings and stuck with a formula which helped them compete for Gibson Cup honours until the final day.

With this summer acting as a fresh start, Douglas is hoping to force his way into Devine’s plans for the upcoming season.

placeholder image — Glentoran's James Douglas is looking to break into Declan Devine's side this season. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

The Glens will get their pre-season preparations underway by hosting Welsh outfit Caernarfon Town on Saturday evening, giving Douglas and the rest of his team-mates a first chance to impress.

"After making a good impact in my first full season a couple of years ago I didn't play as much as I would have liked last year," he said. "Of course that is frustrating because as a player you want to play, but I know it's up to me to take my opportunity when it comes along.

"When the team was doing well and on that winning run last season it was hard to break into the team as the manager understandably wanted to stick with a winning team as much as possible.

"This is a new season though and I know I will get opportunities to shine and it is up to me to play myself into the team.

"We have a very talented squad here and you have to be at your very best to claim the shirt, but that's what we all want as competition for places brings the best out in everyone.

"I'm certainly determined to do everything I can to claim a starting spot as well as drive this club on to achieve even more success.

"We were unfortunate to miss out on a couple of competitions last season but that has only stoked up the desire to kick on again this season."

Glentoran are building towards their first European match in three years and have been handed a tough tie against Latvian top-flight leaders RFS – they defeated Larne 7-0 on aggregate in Champions League qualifying in 2024 before making it to the Europa League.

"I've not played in Europe for the club yet so I can't wait to play a part this time around," added Douglas. "We were all watching on Tuesday to see who we were paired with and we know it's going to be tricky enough against RFS as they are a team with plenty of European experience.

"They have obviously played against Linfield and Larne in recent seasons and it was only a couple of years ago that they made it through to the group stages of the Europa League having recently played in the Conference League group stages too, so that tells you what you need to know about their quality.

"It's an exciting tie though and one which we will be going into with plenty of confidence. It's a privilege to get to play in Europe and we will be determined to give a good account of ourselves and see where it takes us.

"The manager and the coaching staff will have us well-drilled on them and we will have had plenty of games under our belts by then too so we will be raring to go."