Jonathan Russell has been voted Glentoran 'Player of the Year' for 2023-24 by the club’s supporters. Castlereagh GSC organised the vote at Saturday’s home game and Jonny came out on top with a very impressive 45% of the vote. He will be presented with his award by Castlereagh GSC officials before kick off in Wednesday evening’s European playoff semi-final with Coleraine.
Fuad Sule was runner-up in his first season with Glentoran, with David Fisher, Bobby Burns and Daire O’Connor also featuring.
The Castlereagh Club has been running this award since 1958 and Jonny. Who doesn’t turn 20 until September is the youngest of the 66 winners so far. Also what a remarkable achievement for a young man in his first season as a first teamer!
Jonny said on being told of his award: “Obviously our season hasn’t been anywhere near good enough this year but hopefully we can turn this into two good performances on the next week and hopefully achieve Europe. On a personal note I’m delighted to achieve this award at such a big club and hopefully can keep performing for the seasons to come in a Glentoran shirt. I want to thank all the staff and players who’ve helped me achieve this award this season and hopefully it’s the first of many achievements at Glentoran.”
Manager Declan Devine: “I’ve said since I came here that we have a tremendous amount of young talent at this club and we saw it firsthand yesterday. Jonny is a perfect example of that young talent. A very talented and enthusiastic lad who has been outstanding in his first full season and who I’ve no doubt will be a pillar at Glentoran for a long time to come. He clearly shows that if a young player has the attitude to match his ability the Bet McLean Oval will be the right place to be. Well done Jonny.”
Jonny has been with the club since he was 9 years old. Definitely one of our own
Graphic by BETH STAFFORD
