'He needs to bring results' - Pour on Feeney

Ali Pour insists his commitment to Glentoran remains "100%"

Glentoran owner Ali Pour says that new manager Warren Feeney "needs to bring results pretty quickly" in his attempt to win over fans.

The appointment received a negative response from some Glentoran fans due to his ties to the Blues.

As a result, Pour says that Feeney must hit the ground running to get critics off his back.

"He knows there's a lot of pressure on him," added Pour.

"He's being scrutinised, every single move gets scrutinised, by the fans and everyone.

"He needs to bring results and pretty quickly as well. We've got some big games coming up in the next few weeks so he has to make sure the squad's ready, and he's ready to win."

Pour backs 'thick-skinned' Feeney

British-Iranian businessman Pour, who purchased Glentoran in July 2019, admits that he did have reservations about bringing in Feeney, who spent 18 months in charge of their Big Two rivals Linfield.

However, He hopes that Feeney's strong links to the east Belfast side, coupled with good results, will see fans warm to the new manager.

"There were (concerns) to be honest, but he also has deep links to Glentoran - his father played here, his son played here, he went to school just down the road, he's from here so I thought that might outweigh the Linfield links," he explained.

"I was probably wrong, naive of me to think that but that's what we thought."

Pour also conceded that despite Feeney's history with the Blues, he didn't foresee the backlash which followed on social media after the announcement that the 42-year-old would take the reins at the Oval.

"I wasn't expecting it to be honest, I was quite surprised. I knew there would be a few suspicions, but I wasn't expecting that much aggression to be honest."

He added: "But Warren is thick-skinned, he knows what he's in for, hopefully he'll prove the fans wrong with the results he brings in. That's all we can hope for really."

Feeney left his post at Welling United to take the job at Glentoran

Oval upgrade still on hold

The Glens owner said that the club is now in a "very strong position financially" with the income they are generating, along with the European money earned through winning the play-offs enough to sustain the club without Pour's investment.

He added that the Glens must target silverware in the upcoming campaign, in both the league and in cup competitions as it is "deserved" at this stage of the project.

Pour also provided an update on proposals to refurbish the Oval and install a new 4G playing surface.

"It is out of our hands, this government funding has to come through at some stage, we need it desperately but we will make do with what we have, the other clubs have the same problem.

"We have planning permission for it [4G pitch], we are waiting for it to come through.

"It is probably too late for this season coming, but hopefully next season it will be ready to go."