The club is pleased to announce that the recovering Willie Garrett has signed a new, one year contract to remain at Glentoran.
It has been well documented in the past that lifelong Glenman Willie was the first player to graduate the whole way through the Glentoran Academy into the first team. Although still only 29, Willie joined the Glens Academy in August 2007, so he incredibly now enters his FIFTEENTH season at the club.
Willie’s injury difficulties since an ACL tear at Solitude in late 2015 have restricted him to 128 first team appearances, being particularly unlucky to miss the 2021 Sadler’s Peaky Blinders Irish Cup Semi Final and Final, having started the previous three rounds. But for his injury he would most likely have started the Final to pick up his second Irish Cup winner’s medal with the club.
Willie spoke to www.Glentoran.com about his new deal and his hopes for the future: “It’s fantastic to have been given the new contract. Obviously, I’ve been here through a lot of the bad times at the Glens, but things have improved so much over the past couple of years and now I’m looking to get stuck in. I feel really fit and sharp now and I just can’t wait to get back.
Last season was a massive disappointment for me. I initially had some bone growth at the back of my knee as a legacy of my ACL operation a few years ago. It locked in the cup semi-final against Crusaders then locked again the following Tuesday in training when I made a pass to Rory. I had the operation, took time to recover then after a few good training sessions it locked again. Really frustrating. The surgeon identified the problem and operated again, and it’s felt great since then.
What was frustrating is that before my injury I’d played every game in the Irish Cup run and in most of the 17 or 18 game unbeaten run we’d had that season and I felt I was playing well.
Things are so different now – the quality of the players who’ve come in, the tempo of the training and the sheer professionalism around the place. Being injured I watched a lot of the training from the gym and I’m so happy to be back in the thick of it.
My aim is just to get match fit as soon as I can, get myself into the Gaffer and Windy’s thoughts, take my chance when it comes and win a few more medals. Simple as that.”
Mick McDermott: “Willie has worked very hard the past year to get himself back to training. He has undergone 2 surgeries and dedicated himself to his rehab. He is now back in full training with the rest of the squad, and we feel he has earned this contract extension.
He is Glentoran through & through and we are very happy to have him stay with us for another season”.
Stay tuned to www.glentoran.com for all player and club news between now and our Europa Conference Qualifying Round.
