After getting taste of success, Larne manager Tiernan Lynch is hungry for more ahead of crucial Champions League qualifier

The Inver Reds picked up a maiden top-flight league trophy in their 134-year history last term to earn a spot in qualifying for the biggest club competition in Europe, and last week only narrowly lost out 1-0 to Finnish champions HJK Helsinki due to conceding an early penalty.

Lynch has enjoyed the challenge of coming up with strategies on how to stop Europe’s elite and wants to experience even more of it in the coming years.

"I think the big thing for Larne as a team and club at the moment is we've had a little taste of Champions League football and success in the league and it's something we want to try and get more of,” he said. “We're fully aware in this league and because of the competition that it's no foregone conclusion - you have to work on it.

"I'm not one for starting to speculate or look too far ahead. My job is very much about the process and making sure we go in with belief in ourselves and confidence in our ability.

"We want to belong at this level and go into these games with real confidence and that's probably my biggest job."

Last week was a positive one for Irish League clubs with all three representatives in the Europa Conference League – Crusaders, Glentoran and Linfield – walking away with great results ahead of their respective second-legs tomorrow.

Lynch believes that progress would be even more fast-tracked if summer football was introduced in Northern Ireland with opponents HJK already 16 games through their league campaign.

"You look at the results and I do definitely think that gap will close,” he added. “I'm going to throw my summer football hat in the ring again.

"If we were 12 or 14 games in, I think we would have had an even better opportunity. It's extremely different setting your team up to play in the Champions League or Europa Conference League without any competitive games.

"It shows you the mark of where we are as a league when you look at some of the other results and how the other teams did. We need to give ourselves more opportunity to kick on in Europe."

Lynch also hopes that with a bit more belief and confidence that a historic European group stage berth could be around the corner.

"I think there are so many good teams and players in our league that when you go into these European competitions, if we could just find that bit more belief in what we do and how we do it that it would make a massive difference in the outcome,” he said. “If we had went into that (first-leg) game with a bit more belief and confidence it might have been a different outcome, and that's not to take anything away from HJK - they are a superb side.

"I think our league, managers, players and coaches are all very underestimated and if that (reach the group stage) was to happen for any of the clubs it would probably give us a real shot in the arm for what the Irish League could potentially do in Europe.

"I think it would also start helping Scottish, English and European clubs take our league more seriously and looking at the transfer fees for our younger players, full-time football, bigger gates, more TV revenue and all the things that go with that.”