Glentoran new boy Harry Murphy says he hasn’t joined the club to “make up numbers” and is determined to win “big things” with the Big Two giants.
Murphy, who made his debut for Portadown last season, became Mick McDermott’s third signing of the summer transfer window on Thursday afternoon.
The 18-year-old defender follows former Crusaders defender Aidan Wilson and Queen of the South striker Ally Roy who both joined the Glens earlier this month.
Read more: Ex-Cliftonville winger on his Irish League highlights and plans for the future
Murphy accepts onlookers might view him as “one for the future” because of his age, but the highly-rated teenager is motivated to make an immediate impact on Mersey Street.
“I know a few people will be looking at it and thinking ‘he’s a young lad, he could be one for the future’, but I’m confident in my ability,” he told the Glentoran YouTube channel.
“I want to come in and I don’t just want to be here to make up the numbers in training. I want to play and show people what I can do.
“Hopefully if I get my chance, I can take it and we go from there. At the end of the day I wouldn’t come here if I didn’t think I was good enough to play.
“I believe in myself and the people I’ve met here believe in me. My family too. I just really want to try and make my way into the team.”
When Murphy, who is the son of former Irish League midfielder Darren, heard Glentoran were interested in signing him this summer, he was keen to get the deal done.
He is also determined to help McDermott’s men challenge for the league title and other major trophies after the club missed out on silverware and European qualification last season.
“When I was told the Glens were interested, of course you’re going to go and hear what they have to say,” he told the Glentoran YouTube channel.
“When I got here Mick, Windy (Paul Millar), Elliott Morris was also here, what they said to me, I liked what I heard and it was encouraging. How could I say no?
“I can’t wait to get started now and help aim for a better season. We want to win the big things and that’s why I’m here.
“I want to win trophies and do as well as I can in the game. I believe this is the club I can do that at. I’m excited to be here.”
While Murphy earned plaudits for his assured performances in his debut season at Portadown, he believes there’s a lot more to come from him in the months ahead.
“I had my full debut last season against the Glens at Shamrock Park and after that there were a few news articles and people said I’d done well,” he said.
“But I was saying to myself ‘I’m still a mile off, that’s my debut’. I still am a mile off and I have a load of work to do but I’m happy to do it.
“Glentoran are a full-time club and for me to bring my game to the next level I need to be training and playing full-time. This is what I want to do and I’m happy.”
Glentoran boss Mick McDermott believes Murphy's talent and “work ethic” squares perfectly with the club’s full-time ethos.
“Harry is relatively young at 18 but we saw first-hand his potential when we played against Portadown last season,” he said.
“We believe our full-time environment, combined with his ability, hunger and worth ethic is a perfect match at this stage of his career.”
Read more: Ex-Cliftonville winger on his Irish League highlights and plans for the future
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