Glentoran owner Ali Pour is determined to bring the glory days back to the Oval as he further pledged his long-term commitment to the club.
The British-Iranian businessman has already invested over £1m into the East Belfast outfit since arriving in 2019 and insists there is more to come.
Pour sat down with media for a rare interview on Thursday inside the club's boardroom.
Read more: Mick McDermott challenges Glens to toast 140th anniversary in style
His backdrop was a glass cabinet holding silverware and memorabilia harking back to some of the Glens' most successful days.
Pour is in Belfast to help celebrate Glentoran's 140th anniversary, and also launch the new '140 Club' which will pump around £50,000 into the local community to support those in need during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
During the interview chatted about his attachment to the club, his relationship with manager Mick McDermott and what the future holds not only for the Glens but the Irish League in general.
Here's what he had to say...
Q: What does Ali Pour want out of Glentoran Football Club?
AP: Let's go back to the beginning and why I ended up here in the first place. When Mick brought me here, the club was not what it used to be.
"The history of this club, the size of it, and the success it used to enjoy, was long gone.
"So I like challenges, and I like to turn around projects. And this was a turnaround business, really. We took a club basically on the verge of bankruptcy, turned it around and made a success of it.
"I want to see the Glentoran we had in the old days. Packing out the stadium, playing quality football and winning titles. Like any other owner would want for their team."
Q: When the Glens are playing and you are away on other business, do you keep an eye on the games?
AP: "Every single game. I try to watch it on the BBC iPlayer, or I follow on Twitter. It can actually be very stressful, especially when we're losing. It messes up everything.
"I could be on a business trip and things could be going well, and then you forget all that.
"But I follow most games."
Q: In terms of your involvement, are you in contact with Mick McDermott and Paul Millar every week?
AP: "More than that. Mick and I speak probably two or three times a week. And if he needs something then it can be more.
"He is like my second wife. He has his moments.
"But when it comes to buying players or strategic decisions, budgetary things, we do talk."
Q: In terms of your actual commitment, how long are you committed to Glentoran? Is there a timescale?
AP: "You can't put a timescale on it. Some people invest into a business on seven-year cycle. So they invest, wait seven years and then sell because they owe money to shareholders. So they sell for a profit or loss.
"That's not the basis of my investment. I am here long-term. And you can't put a time on it. There are so many variables in football, both on and off the pitch. You just don't know where it is going to go.
"I thought we would win the league last year, but in the end we didn't get near it.
"But I am here for the long-term."
Q: So there's no initial financial commitment of 'X' number of years?
AP: "The plan we had was over three years. The first year was to stabilise the club, the second was to improve and the third was to win the league.
"We spoke about milestones, but they weren't linked to my investment."
Q: What progress or improvements do you want to see moving forward?
AP: "It is evolving. We don't have any clear, set plans. It is about improving.
"I will take this as far as I can take it. Glentoran has to perform within the best of its capabilities. So if it means improving the squad we will do that.
"The stadium, that has to happen at some stage. This is a great stadium with a lot of history, but it is falling apart. It needs to be addressed at some stage.
"And it's not just about the men's team. We have the women's team doing very well and also our academy.
"So I think the idea is to keep improving, and also helping the community with the '140 Club' and initiatives like that. That should make a big impact from this year onwards.
"In the past we have tried to help the community, but now we have rising energy costs. The cost of living and inflation is impacting on everyone and we want to help as many people as possible."
Q: With the structures in place, have you every confidence in Mick McDermott as manager and the support team he has?
AP: "We have all seen the improvement. Most fans might see Mick for 90 minutes on the pitch but they don't realise how much work is involved. And Mick wasn't just a manager, he was a managing director and he was managing the whole business.
"That's too much for anyone, and he obviously made mistakes, but he really needed a proper structure in place from the beginning. And now since Desi (Curry, general manager) has joined he has been a huge help and a huge weight off Mick's shoulders.
"And that frees up Mick's time to focus on the football, and Desi can manage the business side of things.
"I am very pleased with the structure and the board, and the volunteers have been a huge asset for us.
"So we are in a really positive place at the minute."
Q: Is this taking up a lot of your time?
AP: “It wasn’t meant to take up this much time but that’s what happens in many businesses I’ve invested in in the past.
“I try to be more of a silent investor but end up getting more and more involved but I have to say I’m really enjoying it.
“It is a pleasure to be involved in Glentoran, it’s never a chore. When I fly to Belfast for meetings I look forward to it but it’s not always like that in my other businesses.
“It’s fulfilling. Even when we lose we know there are ways to improve things and I do plan to spend more time in Belfast and with Glentoran."
Q: Mick is an ambitious manager, and he is passionate about the Irish League. Do you share his ambition on both fronts?
AP: “The Irish League has to be improved. It deserves to be improved. There is such a huge pool of talent here. We should have more TV here, more support from government.
“The Irish League needs to be alongside the Scottish league at least and one of my reasons for investing was to improve football in Northern Ireland. If my investment is a success, hopefully other investors will invest and that automatically improves the league."
Q: Can you lobby government?
AP: “I don’t know what value I can add by lobbying but maybe the time is right to sit down with (Larne owner) Kenny Bruce and a few other people to set up a group to brainstorm to try to improve things.
“There is so much potential and 30 years ago the league was bigger. Why can’t we go back to those days."
Q: Who is Ali Pour?
AP: “I’m a very private person, I always have been. I’ve always done my own thing in my businesses and I guess it was quite naive of me to think I could keep doing that with a football club.
“Maybe that was a mistake and I should have been more active from day one because as an owner, people do want to know who you are and they deserve to know who you are.
“I was born in Iran and raised in Swansea. I started working in the energy sector in the late ‘90s after university and moved to Dubai. The businesses were a success and I expanded and invested in a pharmacy company, as well as energy and tech companies.
“Then Mick approached me about the Glentoran opportunity around four years ago and I said ‘why not, let’s give it a go’.
“The Oval should be a hub for the community. Look at what Kenny has done for Larne and that’s one of our plans. We will announce more in the coming months but we want the Oval to be a community hub seven nights a week.
“If I can make Glentoran a success and brag about it, maybe you’ll see more investors coming in.”
READ NEXT:
- N Ireland footballer joins West Belfast team for midweek training session
- Barry Johnston says NI pair deserve to move on with careers
- Kenny Bruce on Larne Football Club's roadmap, title hopes, Tiernan Lynch and no regrets
- From Linfield to Binfield, the comical football journey of ex-Irish League ace
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
