Ali Pour believes some Glentoran supporters 'crossed the line' with Mick McDermott abuse

​A number of supporters staged a protest in The Oval car park following Glentoran’s 1-0 Premiership defeat to Larne in January, which was their sixth loss in seven matches during a run that also included losing 3-0 against rivals Linfield in the BetMcLean Cup semi-finals.

That Larne fixture turned out to be McDermott’s last one in the Glens dugout with Rodney McAree taking over.

The Glens had kicked off the 2022/23 season by putting together an unbeaten run of 11 matches but slipped to sixth by the time McDermott left and ultimately qualified for European football next season through the play-offs.

While respecting the passion of the Glentoran fanbase, Pour says some went too far.

"I'm always travelling on business so you see car park protest and you're thinking is that normal? It shouldn't go that far,” he said. “I appreciate passionate fans and to some extent you have to respect the passion that is there, but you cross a line sometimes that you really shouldn't cross.

"It was hard to watch and hear about what happened afterwards.

"I was told the next day and day after and Mick was devastated. Mick loves this club - it was his baby and he was there supported by us.

"He was here 24 hours a day really working hard doing everything. To leave like that wasn't very nice and it was hard to see."

McDermott, who finished with a record of 92 wins from 158 matches as Glentoran boss and delivered an Irish Cup crown in 2020 by beating Ballymena United in the final, remains on the club’s Board of Directors alongside his new role as assistant manager of the Qatar national team to former Manchester United number two Carlos Queiroz.

The 49-year-old was the driving force behind bringing British-Iranian businessman Pour to the east Belfast club in 2019 and he says McDermott is still up to speed on what is happening at The Oval.

"He's still a board member so as much as any other board member he has a role,” he added. “He advises still but is just less hands-on than he was a year ago.

"He knows what is going on in terms of players, finances and so on so he still has as big a responsibility as any other board member."