Warren Feeney: I must be wise, I can’t just burn through Glentoran's cash
Glentoran boss Warren Feeney is happy to have the backing of owner Ali Pour
Glentoran boss Warren Feeney is delighted to have been backed by club owner Ali Pour but he insists the days of bank-busting deals at The Oval are over.
Welsh-Iranian businessman Pour flew into east Belfast for Glentoran’s 6-0 win over Coleraine and moved swiftly to allay supporters’ fears about the club.
He scotched rumours that he was considering pulling out of the club, said he would back Feeney in the market and insisted the club was ‘in a very strong position’.
When Pour bought the club over in 2019, manager and current director Mick McDermott made a huge splash in the market, shelling out big money to tempt players like Shay McCartan, Conor McMenamin, Sean Murray, Bobby Burns, Rhys Marshall, Ruaidhri Donnelly, Luke McCullough and Aidan Wilson, to name a few.
Some have proved successful, others not so much and the problem Feeney inherited was a bloated squad with players on wages that are hard to match elsewhere.
Glentoran broke the Irish League transfer record when signing McCartan from Ballymena United for £100,000, and Feeney admits some of the issues he is grappling with were caused by the club.
“I’m not going to lie, yes, we were at fault as well, but some of the transfer fees for some of the players are incredible,” Feeney told Sunday Life Sport.
“So we’re not going to dive into situations where I think people can see us coming, what went on before, bringing in big transfers.
“I spoke with Ali before and after the game on Saturday. He flew in with his family and he loved it and he’ll be back once a month.
“He’s certainly given me the backing to go ahead and hopefully bring one or two in in January, but I didn’t have to wait to speak to
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