We are delighted to announce that Elliott Morris has agreed to accept a new role as Goalkeeper Coach role with the club while remaining a member of the first team squad.
Elliott, who has made 731 first team appearances and won no fewer than 13 trophies in his 17 seasons at Glentoran, was welcomed onto the coaching team by Head Coach Mick McDermott:
“Elliott is a legend at this club and it’s important to have legends involved in the coaching staff. What he has achieved at Glentoran as a player is immense and now as Goalkeeper Coach, he’s in a position to keep making a valuable contribution for years to come. Keepers can only benefit from working with someone of Elliott’s talent and experience.
I’m delighted Elliott has embraced this new challenge and I’m very excited to have him on board. He will still be available to play for the first team because he still has plenty to offer as a player, but primarily he will guide the future of Glentoran goalkeeper programme. I look forward to bringing him into the staff and working with him for many years to come.”
Elliott said on his appointment last night: “This is a great honour for me and I’m very proud to have been offered this role as it keeps me at a club I love, that’s been a massive part of my life and makes sure I’ll be contributing to Glentoran as we enter what’s going to be a very exciting time for everyone here. I’m realistic that my body has been telling me I can’t keep playing 35 or 40 matches a season at this level but I’ll still be there challenging for a place and working closely with the other keepers and making sure we all push each other hard and motivate each other.
Obviously, it’s been tough here the past few years but for my first decade or so here the club was where it should be on the pitch, challenging for all the trophies and winning quite a few. So I know what Glentoran is all about and I’ll also bring that experience when working with our top young keepers like Paul McLaughlin and Ryan Dalzell.
Mick and Paul have made a long term commitment to the club and so have I. This is the best changing room we’ve had for 10 years or so in terms of togetherness and atmosphere and I know Mick will be adding to that over the summer. All successful teams I’ve played in have had this sort of togetherness.
People say I’ve stuck with the club over the past few hard years but that’s a two-way street. There have been occasions when my form wasn’t great but the club has always stuck by me in times like that so I’m sure we’re both going into much more positive era for everyone at the Oval and I’m buzzing to have committed to it long term.
Finally, I just want to say something about our supporters. It’s 4 years since we’ve won anything but 2013 and 2015 showed how easy it is to get the Glens support behind us if we give them something to enjoy. Our fans here are brilliant and they’ve stuck with us so loyally through bad times. We know they’re screaming out for success and we know we need to give them something back. I've got a lot to offer the club in both my roles and I’m completely honoured to have been given the chance to do it.”
Current international Goalkeeper coach Des McAleenan, who has spent the past few weeks working with our squad at the Billy Neill. says of Elliott: “It’s a great honour to work with a keeper who has played over 700 senior games - that is an incredible feat in modern football. I have worked with Elliott these last few weeks and his enthusiasm and effort is without question: he still has a lot to offer in terms of playing. His passion is Glentoran, his future is Glentoran and I know he will lead the Keepers to the future.”