'It's been an unbelievable journey' - Lynch on Larne exit

Departing Larne boss Tiernan Lynch says that the timing of his exit from the east Antrim club was "probably perfect" as he prepares to begin a new challenge as manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City.

Lynch was announced as Ruaidhri Higgins' replacement at the Candystripes on Monday night and brought the curtain down on a remarkable seven and a half years in charge of Larne with a 2-0 BetMcLean Cup last-16 win over Institute on Tuesday night.

The former Cliftonville assistant's time at the helm saw him transform the fortunes of the Invermen from Championship strugglers to back-to-back Irish Premiership champions with the backing of owner Kenny Bruce.

He also made history by guiding Larne to the league stages of the Uefa Conference League during the summer.

After watching his reign end on a high, Lynch reflected that it had been "an unbelievable journey at an unbelievable football club".

"Larne was never going to last forever and I think the timing was probably perfect," he told BBC Sport NI.

"When we looked at our vision seven and a half or eight years ago of what we wanted to do and what we wanted to try and achieve, we were clear in our mind of where we wanted to go.

"In the summer we were able to achieve the last piece of the jigsaw and it’s probably time for a change, for a new voice and give those players something to kick on again and even for our own sake a new challenge, an unbelievable opportunity for us and something we’re very proud and privileged to be asked to be part of."

'It's always sad but the chapter's over now'

Lynch's tenure also saw the club collect four successive County Antrim Shield triumphs and make significant progress in bettering the infrastructure of the club off the pitch.

He said preparation for Tuesday night's game was difficult given the circumstances.

"It was definitely difficult. There were lots of emotions going through your head – all the fans and everyone connected with the club have been unbelievable with us from the moment we walked in the door.

"Hopefully we’ve repaid them with what we’ve done on the pitch and even off the pitch with regard to building a football club and the structures that go with it.

"It’s always sad, but the chapter’s over now. It’ll always be a massive part of what we’ve done and we’re hugely thankful, but it’s time to move on."

Lynch paid tribute to everyone involved with the club who had played a part in turning round the club's fortunes in such a dramatic fashion, adding that the extent of the achievements made them all the more satisfying.

"That was part of the sweetness of the success, where we came from, knowing how hard we had to work to get it to work. There were a lot of people involved in that, it was a whole collective.

"It was hard work but like anything in life that’s worthwhile, you’ve got to work at it."

'A very special bunch of boys'

Lynch praised his players' efforts in bouncing back from a 1-0 league defeat by Linfield on Saturday to see off Championship side Institute in Tuesday's cup tie.

"We were obviously disappointed on Saturday to lose to Linfield, it was a game we definitely wanted to win.

"But great credit to the players, there haven’t been that many times over the last two or three years that we haven’t bounced back from a defeat. Thankfully they showed that same character again.

"They’re a very special bunch of boys and they’ll always be a very special bunch of boys in our eyes. I just hope they can go on and continue the success and go from strength to strength."