'You've got to impact it' - Rooney to put his stamp on Larne

Nathan Rooney's Larne will play their penultimate league phase game of the Uefa Conference League against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday

As he seeks to fill the boots of the club's history making manager Tiernan Lynch, Larne's new boss Nathan Rooney says it is part of his job to earn the respect of the players at Inver Park.

The 35-year-old Englishman took over the back-to-back Irish Premiership champions last month after Lynch left to join Derry City in the League of Ireland.

The former FCB Magpies manager took charge of his first Larne game in a 1-1 draw with Cliftonville this month, although he will not officially be leading them in their Uefa Conference League game against Dinamo Minsk in Azerbaijan on Thursday night as he does not yet have the required licence.

While Larne's achievement in becoming the first Irish Premiership team to reach the league phase of a major European tournament will always be linked to Lynch's massively successful spell with the county Antrim side, Rooney wants to be himself in the Inver Park dugout.

"The job is the job. You've got to come in and you've got to impact it," he said.

"You've got to continue all the things that you're good at, you've got to come with confidence, you've got to come with clear messaging.

"I want to show my energy, I want to be on the front foot."

While assistant Gary Haveron was in interim charge for the defeat to Olimpija in the first game following Lynch's departure, and will also officially be acting as head coach on Thursday, Rooney accompanied his new side on both trips.

"Over the course of the few days, it felt like I'd been in the environment for a long period," he added.

"That's a big compliment to the lads themselves and the backroom team.

"It's not up to them to make me feel welcome, it's my job to get in there and earn their respect with the players."

Feeling he has adjusted quickly to his new position, Rooney believes it is important to stress the quality in the squad he has inherited.

In what has been a difficult campaign following several seasons of rapid growth, Larne are still seeking their first point in the Conference League and are ninth in the Irish Premiership, although with games in hand on all the sides above them.

"The calibre of the club, it's a lot greater and a lot higher than people actually think," Rooney said.

"It's really important that we make sure that quality is talked about for a long time.

"The important thing is making people see how good they actually are. I'm excited by the quality and the knowledge [in the squad]."

How Larne coped with the twin demands of European and domestic football this season was always going to be one of the stories of the Irish Premiership campaign, while now the loss of Lynch is its own dominant theme.

Rooney, though, feels the early indications have been encouraging.

"I'm a big believer that if you give that energy out, you ask for that in abundance, on the training field and off it. That's been given back in massive amounts. 

"At the end of the day, the players are aligned to the club, they've to continue the progression for the club and for themselves as players.

"At the same time they've got to do that under leadership and instruction as well."

Cian Bolger [right] training with Larne at the Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium on Wednesday night

'It's kind of a new era for the club'

Larne defender Cian Bolger, who crossed paths with Rooney at Fleetwood Town, has called it a "new era" at the club.

"It's been really good. There's a great buzz around the place again, there's a new energy around the building which is great to see," he said.

"The previous manager brought great success but it's kind of a new era for the club.

"The manager has come in with his ideas and everyone is really excited to get working under him and see what we can do."

Thursday's game in Azerbaijan has been another lengthy European trip for Larne, who have also played in Latvia, Kosovo, Portugal, Norway and Slovenia in a campaign that began in July.

While the travel has been gruelling, and they have as many as five league games to catch up on compared to some of their domestic rivals, Bolger says Larne must "embrace" the challenges of playing at this level.

"We set out at the start of pre-season to get into this competition, it's something you've got to embrace.

"This is what we want to be a part of and, going forward, be a part of every season. It's not something we can be complaining about.

"Every player wants to play games rather than be on the training field. The more the better."