Glentoran Appoints Magilton After Devine Exit

Glentoran have moved quickly in their search for a new manager, identifying Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton as their preferred successor to Declan Devine after a bruising start to the season at the Oval.

Devine’s two-year spell ended on Monday, cut short by poor early results that drained momentum and patience in east Belfast. By Tuesday night, the club already felt in transition, with assistant managers Paddy McCourt and Tim McCann stepping in on the touchline for a home defeat to Irish Premiership leaders Coleraine – a result that underlined how urgent the situation had become.

The response from the Glentoran hierarchy has been decisive. Magilton has emerged as the frontrunner, with the Glens making a formal approach to speak with the Cliftonville manager. The timing adds an extra edge: the two clubs are due to meet at Solitude on Saturday in a league fixture that now carries a storyline far beyond the three points on offer.

For Cliftonville, the interest is no surprise. Magilton, 57, arrived at Solitude in 2023, replacing Paddy McLaughlin, and immediately reshaped the club’s fortunes. Within a year he delivered Irish Cup glory, ending a 45-year wait for the trophy and restoring a sense of weight and expectation around the Reds.

His impact did not stop there. Magilton guided Cliftonville to the 2025 BetMcLean Cup, beating Glentoran in the final – a result that will not have faded from memory at the Oval. Two months later, he took the Reds back to another Irish Cup final, this time losing out to Dungannon Swifts, but the pattern was clear: Cliftonville had become a force in domestic cup competitions under his watch.

That record, allied to a deep coaching résumé, explains Glentoran’s interest. The former Northern Ireland international has worked at Ipswich Town, the Irish FA, Dundalk and Melbourne Victory, building a varied career that blends international, club and development roles. At Solitude, that experience translated into trophies and a hardened mentality in big games.

Now the question hangs over Belfast football: will the man who rebuilt Cliftonville be the one tasked with reviving Glentoran? The answer may start to reveal itself when the two sides walk out at Solitude on Saturday, with the future of one club’s dugout tied closely to the success of another’s.