'I don't think it's too far away' - Larne boss Tiernan Lynch believes historic Irish League step is on the horizon

Finnish champions HJK and Kosovan outfit FC Ballkani – both of whom Larne played on their European journey earlier this season – made it to the Europa Conference League groups while the likes of Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Latvia and the Republic of Ireland have all had representation in recent years.

Linfield came within seconds of qualifying for the competition in 2022 before losing out on penalties to RFS at Windsor Park – an opportunity which followed after winning their opening Champions League round against The New Saints.

That allowed two consecutive defeats against Bodo/Glimt and Zurich to still set up a play-off round against the Latvian side and Larne will be hoping to follow on a similar path by picking up victory at the crucial first stage.

Making it to the group would bank a significant financial windfall – qualification to the Europa Conference League is worth €2,940,000 while each match win earns €500,000 and draw €166,000 – and Lynch believes Premiership clubs are getting closer to making the next step.

"I think it's coming – how soon it will be I don't know, but it is coming,” he said. "The league is just going from strength to strength.

"It's getting more professional, teams are getting better, clubs are getting better, managers are getting better...the professionalism is going through the roof. I don't think it's too far away.”

This summer will see owner Kenny Bruce fulfil his dream of staging Champions League football at Inver Park after last season’s tie with HJK was staged at Solitude due to their 4G pitch not passing a FIFA test.

Larne’s back-to-back titles have been built on solid home foundations with Lynch’s men losing just two of 38 league matches at the County Antrim venue over the past two seasons, collecting 92 points from a possible 114.

"We actually felt a bit hard-done by with the HJK game last year,” added Lynch. “We definitely felt had we got them here at Inver we might have got a bit more out of it.

"Who knows? When you get into Europe it's very much the luck of the draw. Hopefully we're better prepared this year than what we were last year.

"I think it will be massive for us playing at Inver next season. Don't get me wrong; I thought the crowd were brilliant at Solitude last year, but home is home and getting the crowd behind you here will make a difference. I think the boys will be way more comfortable as well trying to do it here than anywhere else.”