Glentoran took 13 points from 18 available, following the departure of Declan Devine, under the interim management of Tim McCann and Paddy McCourt

Duncan Ferguson accepts the ‘chocolate and flowers’ period will be over for him if Glentoran dont pick up results right away.

The former Everton and Scotland striker took the Oval job this week, to much fanfare. He will be on the touchline in east Belfast for the first time on Saturday, against Ballymena United.

In the league, Glentoran took 13 points from 18 available, following the departure of Declan Devine, under the interim management of Tim McCann and Paddy McCourt.

However, Ferguson knows his honeymoon period at the Oval will be short-lived if the Glens aren’t winning matches.

“Well, it is just new. I call it the chocolate and flowers period at the moment,” said Ferguson.

“Flowers and chocolates. Everything’s fine at the moment, rosy. But all of a sudden, you’ve got to go into the games, you’ve got to get results.

“It’s a demanding club that needs results. Historically, they’ve won, but they’ve not won for a long time,” Ferguson explained to Mark Crossley on the Overlap Daily, brought to you by Sky Bet.

“The league, it’s been 17 to 20 years they’ve not won the league, but they’ve got a wee chance. We’re probably about the fourth best team in the league at the moment.”

Ferguson’s assessment underlines the challenge facing him. Expectations remain high, but closing the gap on the teams above them will require more than optimism, investment and a big-name managerial appointment.

The former striker, brings considerable coaching experience from spells at Forest Green Rovers and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well as his time as assistant manager at Everton under Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez. He also served twice as caretaker manager at Goodison Park.

Having spent two years out of football management, Ferguson says the opportunity to return to the touchline was one he could not turn down.

“I’ve still got a passion to be a coach and a manager,” he said. “I’ve got that wee itch that I wanted to scratch.

“That’s why I took the job, really. And, to be fair, they’ve got a chance. They’ve got a wee chance to do something. I’ve got passion for being a manager and a coach. I wanted to get back out on the grass.

“I’ve been out of work now on the coaching side for a couple of years now.

“I’ve had one or two opportunities, but not a lot, one or two that just weren’t quite right.

“At the end of the day, it’s football, isn’t it? It’s very hard to get a job. It’s very hard to get a managerial job, especially when you’re at my age as well, because really, everything’s a young man’s game now, isn’t it?

“But I’ve still got a passion to be a coach and a manager. On my last job, I lost my job through administration, don’t know if you know that, but I lost a job through administration, so I’ve got that wee itch that I wanted to scratch.”