It must be a big game - there's a phalanx of photographers waiting to greet departing Larne manager Tiernan Lynch as he takes his place in the away dug-out at the Brandywell.

Next time he's here, he'll be in the home end!

For the 349th and final time tonight Tiernan Lynch picks a Larne side for a competitive match, this time a Bet McLean Cup tie against Institute at the Brandywell, joint home ground of new charges Derry City.

The north Belfast man is poised to take over the Candystripes following a press conference on Wednesday morning but before then there is business to be done and the pursuit of an eight trophy under his tenure.

Tonight's Larne team shows no less than 10 changes to that which lost to Linfield in the league at the weekend.

Levi Ives, Chris Gallagher, Jordan McEneff, Joe Thompson and Paul O'Neill all drop to the bench while Cian Bolger, Josh Sears, Andy Ryan, Rohan Ferguson and Sam Todd all get the night off.

Defender Shaun Want is the only survivor from the weekend and he is joined by Joe Besant in nets along with Aaron Donnelly, Conor McKendry, Mark Randall, Sean Graham, Beni Magee, George Marsh, Dylan Sloan, Matthew Lusty and Logan Wallace.

Institute boss Kevin Deery, meanwhile, makes three changes to the team which lost here to H&W Welders on Saturday.

Fintan Doherty and Brendan McLaughlin drop to the bench while top scorer Mikhail Kennedy misses out completely. In their place come Gabriel Aduaka, Michael Harris and Caoimhan Cross.

Institute: Muldoon, Boyle, Tweed (c), Lynch, Carlin, Harris, Duffy, Aduaka, Doherty, Brown, Cross.

Subs: Doherty, McDermott, Burke, B. McLaughlin, Baird, McAuley, M. McLaughlin.

Larne: Besant, Want, Donnelly, McKendry, Randall (c), S. Graham, Magee, Marsh, Sloan, Lusty, Wallace.

Subs: D. Graham, Ives, Thomson, O'Neill, McEneff, Nolan, Gallagher.

Referee: Declan Hassan.

Image source, BBC Sport

Larne owner Kenny Bruce says the club will not rush into appointing a replacement for Derry City-bound manager Tiernan Lynch.

All good things must come to an end, but Larne fans may feel that Tiernan Lynch's departure to take on the role as Derry City manager, has arrived prematurely.

When he rejected the chance to take over at Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone in September the Inver Park faithful will have hoped that he would see out the domestic and European season with the club.

Yet, that has not proved the case as Lynch has opted to replace Ruaidhri Higgins and oversee a huge rebuild at the Brandywell.

Not many fans will begrudge Lynch a move to pastures new, but they will feel that it is a rather abrupt ending to what was a fairytale rise to the top during his seven years at the helm.

And they will also inevitably question what comes next.

Read about some of the possible runners and riders to replace Tiernan Lynch as Larne manager here.

Larne owner Kenny Bruce says the club are already looking forward to the "next chapter" following Tiernan Lynch's departure to take over at Derry City.

Lynch spent seven years at Inver Park, winning back-to-back Irish Premiership titles and guiding the club into the Uefa Conference League before moving to the Candystripes on a three-year deal.

And Bruce was keen to reflect on an "amazing journey" during Lynch's tenure.

"I’m glad it has ended in the way that it has, there is no resignation or termination it ended on great terms," Bruce told BBC Sport NI.

"The whole legacy was really important for both of us and to look back on the nearly eight years it’s been and how successful we have been as a partnership it bodes well for the future."

Read and watch more of what Larne owner Kenny Bruce had to say to BBC Sport NI about the appointment of a new manager here.

Larne manager Tiernan Lynch will leave the back-to-back Irish Premiership champions and sign a three-year deal to take over at Derry City.

The 44-year-old, whose final game in charge of the Inver outfit will be their BetMcLean League Cup tie against Institute at Derry's Brandywell Stadium on Tuesday, will replace Ruaidhri Higgins as Candystripes boss.

Higgins left his post as manager by mutual consent after three years at the helm following Derry's shock 2-0 FAI Cup final defeat to Drogheda.

Lynch's older brother Seamus, who was his assistant at Larne, is also making the move to the League of Ireland side, while Gary Haveron and Andrew Mitchell will take temporary charge at Inver Park.

Lynch took over as Larne manager in 2017 and led them from the second-tier Championship to back-to-back top flight titles.

He also guided them into the Uefa Conference League phase this season as Larne became the first Northern Irish side to qualify for the group or league phase of a major European competition.

Tonight's BetMcLean Cup meeting between Institute and Larne at the Brandywell has become much more than just a cup tie, significant as it is in that respect for both clubs.

This evening's match now brings the curtain down on a momentous period in the history of Larne FC, marking as it does the end of its manager Tiernan Lynch's seven years plus at the east Antrim club.

Lynch has transformed the fortunes of the Invermen during his tenure - helping to lift them from the foot of the Championship to becoming back-to-back Premiership champions and then into the league stages of the Europa Conference League.

The Larne boss has decided to move to pastures new as manager of Derry City, but before taking charge of the Candystripes will be at the helm at Larne for one last time in this last-16 meeting with Institute at the Brandywell.

How ironic it is that Lynch's final game in the Larne dressing room is at the home of his new club.

An emotional evening then for all involved at Larne but professional to the end, a victory for his charges tonight will still be very much in the mind of Lynch as he bids to go out on a high.

We'll have text updates and in-play clips throughout the evening so be sure to stay with us to see how the action unfolds.

Image source, Inpho