'I think we're still a couple short' - Glentoran manager Declan Devine makes transfer admission after opening Premiership defeat
Declan Devine admits Glentoran are “still a couple short” after opening their Premiership campaign with defeat to Crusaders, but insists any potential new arrivals have to be the right fit following a summer revamp at The Oval.
After being appointed Glens chief on a permanent basis in the closing stages of last season, Devine has transformed the squad in East Belfast with 14 players departing, including the likes of Bobby Burns, Luke McCullough and Shay McCartan, while six have came through the door – Daniel Gyollai, Wassim Aouachria, Dylan Connolly and Frankie Hvid all started on Friday night and Charlie Lindsay was introduced off the bench.
Devine was without experienced duo Marcus Kane and Fuad Sule while last season’s Player of the Year Johnny Russell was also absent through injury, but the ex-Derry City boss still expected more from his squad and admits they could look to do further business before the window shuts.
"Tonight shows that we're still short...we missed out on Fuad Sule and Marcus Kane's leadership qualities tonight, I think that was evident,” he said. "I never felt we were ever in any danger of losing the game but I think we just needed that bit of calmness from experienced heads to say 'settle down, try to put your foot on the ball' and those two guys definitely give you that.
"So I think we're still a couple short but we have to make sure they're the right fit. I thank the fans for they stayed with the team right throughout the 94 minutes. They tried to get us back in the game but we just didn't do enough.
"We understand that it's a new group of players, we understand that we've lost a lot of players...but there's still a higher expectation for the level of performance. When you don't play overly well it's important you don't lose the game and we'd a huge impact on us losing the game in the goal we gave away.
"There's a very young team out there but, at the same time, I expect more from them and we will get better. That's the bottom line...we'll come back in on Monday, we'll not dress it up, we'll sit back down and watch the game and we'll go through the things that we didn't do well and, hopefully, make sure it doesn't happen again."