The club is pleased to announce the signing of Conor Pepper (pictured above) as our first new signing for the first team this summer.
Conor (24), a central or right sided midfielder, is a former Republic of Ireland U19 international who has spent the past six seasons in Scotland, first at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and latterly with Greenock Morton. Last season he was coaching at Morton while recovering from a knee operation.
Conor was strongly recommended to Ronnie McFall by former Hibs and Morton manager Jim Duffy. Conor was a key member of Duffy’s team that won the Scottish First Division title in 2014-15.
Ronnie said: “I’m very pleased to have been able to get Conor signed up. Jim Duffy had him as a regular starter and a key member of a strong Greenock Morton team and couldn’t recommend him strongly enough. I know we haven’t got as much business done so far this summer as supporters would like but we’re definitely not finished. We’re still actively looking for more quality players in key positions who will immediately strengthen the starting line up and allow us to play the style and formation we want to play this season. We’ve had to be patient as we need to get the right calibre of player in. We had the opportunity to sign a lot of players this summer but the money we’ve freed up needs to be used in a way that significantly strengthens the first team, not just the squad. We’ve got good cover for most positions so now it’s a matter of making sure we’ve got the strongest possible first team line up.”
Welcome to Glentoran, Conor.
Conor’s signature was completed on Tuesday night and international clearance means he is available for Saturday’s season opener. Full GlensTV interview with Connor is below.
Also joining the senior squad on amateur contracts are Lee Chapman and Nigel Prentice.
Lee (24) plays right midfield or right back. He is a Glentoran supporter and a Glentoran Academy product who left the club for Lisburn Distillery in 2015.He has played in the Danske Bank Premiership for Carrick Rangers for the past two seasons and will be well known to our support for scoring the equaliser against us in three separate matches last season. Lee spent pre-season with the club.
Nigel (25) is a speedy winger who can play either side or through the middle. He joins from Lisburn Rangers. Last season he scored 20 goals and had 15 assists in Division IA of the Amateur League. He came to the club at the end of last season, having been recommended by our scout, Billy Sinclair. Nigel was a product of the Linfield Academy.
We’re sure the Glentoran Family will welcome both Lee and Nigel to the club and wish them well for the new season.