Glentoran have set their sights on Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton as the man to steady the ship after Declan Devine’s departure from the Oval.
Devine’s two-year spell ended on Monday, cut short by a poor start to the season that left the board with little room for patience. By Tuesday night, the club already felt in transition, with assistant managers Paddy McCourt and Tim McCann taking temporary charge for the home defeat to Irish Premiership leaders Coleraine.
The result only sharpened the urgency. Glentoran have now made a formal move to speak to Magilton, who has quickly become the frontrunner for the job. The timing adds an extra edge: the two clubs are due to meet at Solitude on Saturday in an Irish Premiership fixture that suddenly carries a storyline far beyond the league table.
Magilton’s stock has risen sharply since he walked through the doors at Cliftonville in 2023. The former Northern Ireland international, now 57, succeeded Paddy McLaughlin and wasted no time in reshaping the club’s recent history.
He delivered Irish Cup glory the following year, ending a 45-year wait for the trophy and giving the Reds a long-craved piece of silverware. That alone would have secured his place in Cliftonville folklore.
He didn’t stop there. Magilton guided the club to the 2025 BetMcLean Cup, with Glentoran themselves on the wrong end of that final. The Reds’ momentum under his watch carried them all the way back to another Irish Cup final two months later, though this time Dungannon Swifts denied them a second successive triumph.
His résumé stretches well beyond the Irish League. Before taking over at Solitude, Magilton held roles with Ipswich Town, the Irish FA, Dundalk and Melbourne Victory, building a reputation as a coach comfortable in different environments and under different pressures.
Now Glentoran want that experience at the Oval.
The question is whether Cliftonville, having finally found a manager who delivers trophies and ends long-standing droughts, are prepared to let him go to a rival just as the season is starting to take shape.
