By any standards, Larne’s Irish Premiership club has had a remarkable year.
One of the most impressive stories in Northern Ireland sport recently is the revolution that saw the East Antrim outfit go from struggling in the second-tier championship to winning back-to-back Irish League titles and European trailblazers.
Although Kenny Bruce and Tiernan Lynch had long-standing management and business support, much has changed at Inver Park over the past year.
Changes in the boardroom
In September 2017, Kenny Bruce became the owner of his hometown club, bringing with him a brand-new era at Larne.
The necessary funding and infrastructure were aided by Bruce’s financial savvy and business acumen in creating a team capable of achieving their goals of promotion to the top flight, a first-ever league title in 2023, and the defense of their crown in 2024.
Following the success of the Champions League, Bruce became the first Irish league team to compete in the lucrative league or group stages of one of the biggest European competitions. However, it was revealed in July that Bruce had sold his 50% stake in the club.
Nick Giannotti and Eric Perez, both known as “two seasoned executives with extensive experience in international football and sports business,” were given the reins by the lifelong fan.
Plymouth Argyle in the English Football League and League of Ireland side Athlone Town are also Redball’s supporters.
Before the Veeck family, who previously owned the St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox, made a minority investment three months later, an American business consortium purchased a minority share in Larne in September 2023.
Managerial merry-go-round
Although he was lured to the Brandywell to take the role of manager of Derry City in the League of Ireland, his departure from Inver Park was only delayed by two months.
The pair worked together during the seven years the former Glentoran assistant served as in charge, and Lynch’s vision for introducing a full-time professional set-up at Larne, complete with high-level training facilities, had matched owner Bruce’s ambitions.
Nathan Rooney, the former manager of the Gibraltar team Bruno’s Magpies, was appointed as his successor after his exit.
Rooney’s failure to do so led the team in European competition led to first team coach Gary Haveron taking over for Conference League games, becoming head coach for the remainder of the season, and then having to take over as head of football in December.
Despite their significant fixture congestion and continental odyssey, Haveron led the team to a second-place finish in the league league and European qualification.
Rooney was given the go-ahead to resign as manager after enrolling in a Uefa Pro Licence program in May. He had previously led a single domestic top flight game against Coleraine, which he had already won in two Conference League qualifying rounds via penalty shootouts before leaving the competition to Santa Clara.
Squad transition
Since starting out full-time and having attracted top players from other Premiership clubs and beyond, Larne’s squad has been in more flux, with more players being traded since achieving successive league championship victories.
Kofi Balmer and Craig Farquhar, both of whom moved to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2022 and January 2024, respectively, while Lee Bonis, a prolific striker, signed for Dutch side Den Haag before the start of the 2024-2019 campaign and has since won four Northern Ireland caps.
Leroy Millar, a star of Larne’s two Premiership victories, was a key player until he was named Footballer of the Year at the Northern Ireland Football Awards in April 2023. However, he injured his groin in April 2024, which has since limited his ability to play for the majority of the time.
Andy Ryan has also experienced injury setbacks, with the most recent being a serious knee injury sustained in a July back-to-foreign friendly against Dungannon Swifts, which could keep him out of action for up to six months.
In the most recent January transfer window, Glentoran lost defender Levi Ives to big-spending Coleraine and Joe Thomson, while fellow frontmen Paul O’Neill and Matty Lusty also experienced their own injury woes last term.
Next, where?
Larne explained in their statement confirming Rooney’s departure on Monday that their decision to part ways with him was made “in line with implementing our long-term football strategy and what we believe will give us the best possible chance to succeed both on and off the pitch.”
They promise to take the “prolonged process to appoint a successor” seriously.
Although how this approach actually works, it seems likely to be a trawl to spread the net.
Will the club choose a head of football who will work with a head coach or a more traditional manager who will be in charge of first-team affairs?
Gary Haveron, the first team coach, will be back in the spotlight in the interim, but it’s not clear whether he wants to stay in charge of his hometown team permanently.
The Invermen may choose to have a manager with significant Irish League experience, or will they instead look to choose a different manager.
Given the remarkable progress Rodney McAree made with Dungannon last season, the Swifts manager signed a three-year extension to his contract with the Stangmore Park club in October of last year. McAree will have his fans’ attention.
related subjects
- Northern Ireland is a sport
- Irish Football
