Article: published on 6 August 2024

Larne will set out to make it three Gibson Cup successes in a row as they begin the defence of the title they have won in each of the last two seasons - their first league championships in their history.

Manager Tiernan Lynch's forays into the transfer market have seen the champions acquire the services of defender Baris Altintop after his release from Braintree Town and goalkeeper Dylan Graham following his departure from Everton.

Livewire winger Conor McKendry begins a second spell at the club after making the move from Coleraine.

Transfers In: Baris Altintop, Conor McKendry, Dylan Graham.

Transfers Out: Aidan McAdams, Caolan Donnelly [loan], Daniel Kearns, Isaac Westendorf, Jaziel Orozco, Odhran McCart, Ro-Shaun Williams, Scott Allan.

Joel Taggart's take: Larne have the chance to become just the third Irish League club to win three top flight titles in a row, joining Linfield and Belfast Celtic.

However it seems they’ll have to do that without talisman Lee Bonis who appears to be on the verge of completing a switch to the Netherlands.

If and how they replace him could determine if they make it a treble of league titles. They had the best defensive stats in the league by far last season and a repeat of that will make them hard to catch.

Opening fixtures: 18/8 - Crusaders (a) - live on BBC Sport NI; 24/8 - Portadown (h); 27/8- Carrick Rangers (a); 30 August - Coleraine (a)