Declan Devine makes Irish League call on Derry City amid 'changing landscape'

Declan Devine would welcome a reincarnation of the Setanta Cup as he revealed he would love to see Derry City back in the Irish League. The Glentoran boss, who has played and managed in both the Irish League and League of Ireland, admitted that one is probably more likely than the other.

The 51-year-old is well aware of the situation regarding his hometown club and Northern Irish football, but regardless he feels regular competition between sides north and south would strengthen the quality of the league here.

“The one thing I would like to see, as one of the last managers to lose one, is the Setanta Cup coming back," said the Glentoran boss. “I understand at the time part-time Irish League clubs found it difficult to travel but for me the time is right.

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“If we believe there is a gap, then competing against those sides would help us close that gap and to test ourselves in a new and fresh challenge.

“I would also love to see Derry City playing in the Irish League. The landscape is changing and I would love that to happen but I also know Derry weren't welcomed and they have enhanced the League of Ireland.

“I can understand why they are happy where they are but at the same time we have a monster of a football club 70 miles down the road and to grow football here I would certainly welcome them back."

There was a big debate over the standard in the two leagues following Larne's 4-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Conference League. While Devine accepted rovers are the "benchmark" for clubs north and south he feels the top clubs in northern Ireland could compete south of the border.

“I don’t believe there is a huge gap, Shamrock Rovers are the benchmark for all sides, north and south," he said. “They have qualified for Europe on a consistent basis and been in the group stages three times.

“I remember when they first went in they were really struggling in the group stages to try to earn a point. They invested huge amounts of money to be competitive in the groups and they are hitting attendances of 7,000 to 8,000.

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“That allows their budget to increase. Graham Burke ripped it up in the Larne game and he’s not a regular starter for Rovers, they were missing a few big players and still won comfortably.

“With that comes a real noose around clubs’ necks – they must qualify for the groups, they must get league titles. The investment is huge and that’s a huge gamble which we have seen with Dundalk coming close to going to the wall after chasing the dream.

“There’s a huge increase in budgets across Ireland but we need to have the stadiums to help us. Rovers have the stadium to bring in crowds in the big Dublin derbies.

“There is a slight difference in that the top League of Ireland clubs are ahead but I have no doubt that sides like Larne and Linfield would be competitive in the League of Ireland.”

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