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250 Club: Tim McCann

Wed, 13/05/2020 - 02:15

With everyone away from the Oval for an undetermined period, we have decided to bring Glentoran supporters some of the most compelling content from the multi award winning Glentoran Gazette. We hope you will enjoy the stories and player interviews we bring and that it will encourage you to buy a Gazette at our home matches when football returns. Many thanks to the Glentoran Supporters Committee (1923) for use of this material. The  "250 Club" series will consist of interviews with current squad members with Eddy Patrick this season.

Tim McCann

281 appearances

41 goals

Played 1999-2004 and 2007-2008

 

You made 281 appearances for the Glens and obviously had a successful time at Cliftonville but do you wish you had joined the Glens sooner in your career?
I think the move came at the right time for me.  We had just won the league but didn’t seem to be progressing the way we should have, so I thought career wise it was a perfect move. I had interest from other clubs but there was only ever one team I would have joined and that was Glentoran.

How much stick did you get from Redmen for crossing over to the East?
I actually got a really bad amount of abuse and even to this day I get it.  My family also got abuse which I found completely unacceptable and angered me a lot, but a guess that’s football. I never understood why they were so angry as we had won three trophies in three years and I had been there from the age of 16 and gave 11 years service.

Tim with Roy Coyle after signing from Cliftonville in January 1999

Over your Glentoran career what would be your biggest regrets and best moments?
Best moments are easy.  When you start to get older you think back quite a lot to the banter in the changing room and the friendships you had on and off the pitch, but winning a league title in my first season and then again in 2003 was special.  But the Irish cup wins in 2000 and 2001 were incredible and I will never forget them.  Regrets are also easy.   We had a chance to do the clean sweep in 2002/2003 season and lost in the Irish Cup final to Coleraine. We had won the league with five matches to go and Coyler rested us for most of the remainder of the games; maybe looking back that wasn’t probably the best idea.

What do you miss about playing other than the actual football?
As I said earlier it’s the banter of the changing room and the bond that you have with a group of guys that you would run through a brick wall for and they would do the same for you, but I think that is missing in the local game today.

What player did you hate to play against and what player did you just hate?
Hate is a very strong word, but Mark Glendinning was one player who I had real ding dong battle with every time we played and we actually didn’t like each other. We would kick lumps out of each other and I don’t think we ever spoke until he signed for Glentoran which I believe is Roy Coyle’s greatest signing.

Tim with the Irish Cup after setting up Ian Gilzean's late winner v Portadown in May 2000

Are you still involved in football now?
Yes I am first team coach at Larne and loving every minute of it. There’s a real good buzz around the place and I love being in the dugout again. Hopefully we can over the next number of years try and establish ourselves as a top team.

Have you been to watch the Glens this season; if so what do you think?
Yes, we played against the Glens earlier in the season and was very impressed with certain individuals and how the team showed a real work ethic and wanted to play for the jersey which to me is the most important thing.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen or heard in the changing room at The Oval?
Elliott Morris farting during Roy Coyle’s team talk and him going crazy at Elliott while the rest of us were in stitches.

Best atmosphere you’ve ever played in?
The 2001 Irish Cup final against the Blues was something else, around 14,000 in the ground and a real carnival atmosphere. More importantly we won 1-0 and the Glenmen sang and danced long after the final whistle. Brilliant!

If you could relive one match or moment again what would it be?
Scoring the golden goal against the Blues in a semi final in the Kop End was special so probably that.

Three members of the 250 Club celebrate a Tim McCann goal v Glenavon