Glentoran are taking a leaf out of Linfield’s book as they look to maintain their strong start to the Premiership season.
The Oval club are the early pace setters with four wins and a draw from five games yet there is a feeling that they haven’t quite hit their stride yet.
They certainly laboured at times in their 3-0 win over Newry City at the weekend and had to wait until the 67th minute to break down the newly-promoted visitors, with Bobby Burns popping up to net the vital opener.
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Impressive impact sub Ally Roy quickly added a second before Paddy McClean’s late header made sure of the points but the scoreline flattered the men from east Belfast.
For first team coach Tim McCann however, the knack of winning games when not playing at full throttle is what separates the best from the rest, as the Glens’ biggest rivals have proven time and again.
“As much as we’re not completely playing top, top level football at this minute in time, it’s all about three points,” said the 50-year-old (inset).
“By hook or by crook, it doesn’t matter how we win, you’ve just got to grind out results.
“You only need to look at Linfield last season and the amount of results they ground out.
“People sometimes said they didn’t play the prettiest football, but you know what? They won the championship.
“So we’ve got to be hard to beat, keep clean sheets, and with the talent we have we’ll always score goals.”
While it’s still very early days, it’s no secret that the Glens are expected to put up a strong challenge for their first league title since 2009 this season.
They’ve been hamstrung in that respect by sluggish starts to recent campaigns but McCann senses a real desire to change the narrative this time around.
“Over the last couple of years we’ve maybe had poor starts to the season but the boys seem really, really focused, they work their socks off every day in training and I think they’re just trying to put a few wrongs right.”
For Newry City boss Darren Mullen, it was a case of taking the positives out of what was an encouraging
display at one of the toughest places his side will visit all year.
“The 3-0 scoreline was harsh,” he said. “But that’s what you’re up against when you come to this level.
“I praised the lads for the amount of work they did off the ball but we just need a little bit more quality when we have it.”
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