
Glentoran confirm five departures while defender Paddy McClean is placed on transfer list
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Fuad Sule will leave Glentoran this summer after the club failed to strike a new deal with the Nigerian-born midfielder.
The 28 year-old has been a key performer for the Glens since joining from Larne in 2023. Sule was named in the Football Writers' Team of the Year earlier this month, after a string of superb performance at the heart of the Glentoran midfield.

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- South Wales Argus
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BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
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Glentoran owner Ali Pour says the club just needs a bit of "fine tuning" and he will "give it as long as it takes" for the club to achieve took over at the Irish Premiership side six years ago and the club have only won an Irish Cup and County Antrim Shield in that season, Declan Devine guided the club to the County Antrim Shield and a third place finish in the league, when a top-two finish would have secured European they missed out on Europe by losing the play-off semi-final, and were defeated in the BetMcLean Cup final and quarter-finals of the Irish admits it was a "disappointing season" but says the club are "getting there"."We've had a few hiccups along the way, but we are very close. "Had we scored an extra goal and finished second, this would be a very different conversation. Fine margins have resulted in where we are today."The gap isn't huge. I expected better results in the last six years, in terms of silverware. We should have won more trophies, no one can dispute that. "But it's never a huge gap. It's always fine margins. Many of the games we lost or drew last season were so finely poised. We were one goal away from finishing second. "The level is up there, the squad performance, Declan's performance - it's all where it should be. I think we just need a bit of fine tuning."Glentoran haven't won the league since the 2008-09 season, but Pour says he believes the Gibson Cup will return to the Oval sooner rather than later. "Our time will come eventually, whether it's under my control or others. "We are serious contenders. There's no reason why it can't happen - the budget's there, we're still signing top players, Declan is more than qualified and capable of bringing the Gibson Cup here."If I didn't think we were capable, I probably wouldn't invest as much. What would be the point? We are capable of doing it and I'm sure one day we will, Who knows, it could be this season." 'Strong bid' for stadium redevelopment Something that the London-based owner believes could add to Glentoran's all round success and improve things on and off the pitch, is a new League clubs are awaiting news on how much money they will receive from the long-awaited Northern Ireland Football Fund. In Pour's eyes his club have submitted the best application and have requested a large portion of the available £36 million."When you look at the Oval, the stadium is falling apart here and I've seen other stadiums that need money. We have waited long enough. "The government has made a decision that they are going to put an amount of money into football. £36 million is not enough by any means for the whole league, so hopefully there will be more to come."Pour says the club have "ticked all the boxes" with a strong bid, and says it is a "big chunk" of the fund."We put a very, very strong bid in and I am very proud of what we have done. We have asked for a lot, we've asked for a big chunk. "Look, we can build a stadium for £20 million, we can build one for £100 million. It just depends how advanced you want it to be."Our need is clear, we sell out many big games because there is space available, but it's jut not safe. "In terms of impact, our social partnership has done wonders in this area and we understand the need to be sustainable. So, we're very optimistic." 'We're missing a talisman' After finishing third this season, the east Belfast side lost their European play-off semi-final to Cliftonville, something Pour admitted falls well short of the club's standards."European football is very important financially and from an emotional perspective. I was disappointed at the end of the season as our squad was more than capable of progressing through Europe. "We put a very strong team together, so we could have done really well had we qualified for Europe. It was hard to see us not get in there and obviously we could have made a lot of money in Europe in the next few months.""Emotionally, the fans and myself, we deserve to be in Europe. We're a full time club, we're very well financed, we've spent a lot of money over the past few years. It should be a given. "Even statistically speaking, there are four places available. We're a top two/top three team, we should be in Europe every year. Now this is the second year we haven't qualified, it's disappointing." Looking ahead to next season and summer transfers, Pour said manager Declan Devine has identified the positions they need to have already signed Scottish midfielder Liam Burt from Shamrock Rovers and Pour stressed there would be further additions."We may bring in two or three more players to strengthen our squad for next season. We're missing a talisman, we're still lacking a real goalscorer, someone who pulls it all together. So, I think we need one more upfront and one in a more defensive position."The club's women's team have achieved great success in recent seasons, wining three of the last five NIFL Premiership titles, achieving European football and most recently topping their group in the All-Island Cup to progress to the quarter-finals where they will host Dublin side Bohemians."The women's team are the thing that cheers me up," said Pour. "When the men's team isn't doing to well, they give me energy. The manager, Kim [Turner], is doing a great job."They've had a great start to the season and are doing so well in the All-Island Cup. I will support them all the way."