Who is Nathan Rooney? Meet the new Larne boss

Rooney first started his coaching career as a teenager with Blackburn Rovers

After seven years of familiarity under Tiernan Lynch, Larne fans now have a new man in the dugout.

One can assume that 35-year-old Nathan Rooney was not a household name in east Antrim until this appointment was made but he does have some history with this part of the world.

With Gary Haveron, newly appointed assistant manager and formerly first team coach under Lynch, taking charge for the Uefa Conference League match against Olimpija Ljubljana on Thursday, Rooney's first game in the hotseat will be against Cliftonville on Sunday (live on BBC iPlayer).

BBC Sport NI takes a look at the credentials of the new boss at Inver Park.

European experience

Fans of Crusaders and Derry City may be more familiar with Rooney's most recent work than others thanks to European qualifiers in the last few seasons.

In his first season at the helm with previous club FCB Magpies of Gibraltar in 2022, a visit to Belfast and the Crues in the Uefa Conference League first round ended in a 4-3 aggregate victory for the Seaview side..

In July of this year, the Magpies beat Derry City in the first qualifying round of the Uefa Conference League before going onto face 15-time Danish champions FC Copenhagen.

The 'former pub team' formed for just £500 in 2013 ultimately lost to the side that had made the last 16 of the previous season's Champions League but their progress in Europe made an impression.

Coaching in English football

Despite his relatively young age in management terms, Rooney has a varied footballing CV.

He gained his Uefa A licence at 22, having started his coaching career in his late teens in the youth set-up at hometown club Blackburn Rovers.

Two years later he was head of youth football at League One side Fleetwood Town, working with managers such as Steven Pressley, Graham Alexander and Uwe Rosler.

The next step up was to become assistant manager at Crawley to Italian Cabriele Cioffi, who went on to manage in Serie A with Udinese and Hellas Verona, before a brief reunion with Pressley at Carlisle in 2019.

"I've worked with some top managers. I'm still a young person on paper but I’m definitely not young in terms of the coaching world with 16-17 years' experience," Rooney said in an interview with BBC Sport this summer.

Success as a manager

After a short time with Colne Town in the Northern Premier League, Rooney joined Magpies in the Gibraltar Football League midway through the 2021-22 season, leading them to a fourth-place finish and the final of the Rock Cup - the league's version of the Irish Cup.

The following season the side won the Rock Cup and finished third but Rooney stepped down as manager in May 2023, only to return three months later.

Rooney, who has the League Managers Diploma and is studying for the Uefa Pro Licence, then guided the side to another third place finish and their first ever win in Europe over Derry City.