'We threw it away': Declan Devine insists Glentoran have to 'change our mentality' after European blow

The Glens had sat second behind champions Linfield for large stretches of the Premiership campaign – an unbeaten run of 10 matches between November and February helping generate momentum, but ultimately they won just three of their next 11 as Larne pipped Devine’s men to the final automatic European spot.

That left them with a showdown against the Reds, who were coming off Irish Cup final heartbreak after suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Dungannon Swifts, and Jim Magilton’s side kept their Europe hopes alive as Jack Keaney and Eric McWoods struck in the dying moments at The Oval.

Defeat means Glentoran have now missed out on progressing to the continental stage – and the financial rewards that comes with it – for the second consecutive season and Devine insists there needs to be changes.

"We have to change our mentality here because the reality is we haven't scored enough goals this year,” Devine told BBC Sport NI. “We had second place in our hands and threw it away.

"We didn't do enough which is the biggest disappointment. We were looking for a reaction tonight, but we didn't play with any intensity and our attacking play was non-existent.

"We switch off from a free-kick then and we are severely punished."

Meanwhile, Magilton praised the character his side showed to bounce back from an agonising weekend defeat and feels qualifying for Europe by beating Coleraine on Sunday afternoon would be “up there with the great achievements”.

"We played really well in parts but above all else we were tremendous in character and guts to get a result after the huge disappointment of Saturday,” he said. “To show the resolve and resilience, I'm so proud of the players.

"Once Rory (Hale) lands on the ball he has that kind of vision and Jack was brilliant all night and recognised there was an opening and then it was a fantastic finish.

"Glentoran were then pressing for an equaliser, and we caught them on the counter and Eric worked his socks off all night and deserved his goal.

"If we qualify for Europe this way it's up there with the great achievements. We know it will be a huge task. We tend to like to do things the hard way so we will be ready."