Euro ‘jolly-up’ no longer part of Irish League language as 'beat 5-0 but we had a good night' now gone
Gary Haveron can still remember the days of Irish League clubs looking on European football as “an opportunity to get the boys away for a beer and glorified pre-season”.
On Thursday evenng he will walk out with Larne against Molde in the role of full-time first-team coach helping his hometown club make history as the first Northern Ireland side to compete across the group stages of European competition.
A 20-year gap from player to coach that spans a milestone journey for the domestic game.
"Our boys now have had more European experience than some Irish League legends who maybe qualified in the past but only had one tie, home and away,” said Haveron of the modern format which offers extended opportunities for clubs to clock up summer minutes. "And maybe the games were an opportunity to get the boys away for a beer and glorified pre-season...I've been there myself (as a player).
"We went to FC Leiria with Coleraine (2003) and it was a hell of a good night...we got beat 5-0 but we had a good night.
"That was part of the Irish League part-time v full-time mentality.
"But we're in Norway to do a job, we fly out Wednesday and back after the game Thursday night.
"We're not there for a jolly-up, we're there to get out of it as much as we possibly can - learning, games under our belt etc.
"People like Matty Lusty and Dylan Sloan are now in double-figures in terms of European games, which can only be brilliant for how these kids move forward and shape their careers, it becomes a different level of perspective.
"It's a shop window to show we can compete."
Despite Larne’s switch in status from part-time to full-time across recent years, Haveron is aware of the gap that remains compared to the UEFA Conference League opposition.
"No-body wants to see us going over there and get embarrassed against these levels of opposition,” he said. "The standard's so high.
"We've obviously done our homework on how Molde play and we'll set up to nullify that as best we possibly can.
"Domestically we're a team that always likes to be on the front foot and go after teams.
"When you play in Europe you can't have that luxury of going after people just quite the same...if you get strung out and don't get your distances right they can make wee boys of you.
"That's what we're aware of...so a disciplined performance is going to be required.”
Haveron views the six ground-breaking games as a golden chance for “a massive amount of learning”.
"Home games are going to be vital, away from home you've got to be realistic as to the level of opposition and quality you're coming up against,” he said. "Every away game you're aiming to see can we keep it tight?
Can we be really, really switched on at set-pieces and use that as an opportunity to get results?
"Can we hit them on the counter-attack?
"At home it doesn't change as much as what you might think.
"I've found teams in Europe so athletic...it's remarkable, they're very fit and strong and can keep going for the 90 minutes and then some.
"But we go in full of confidence and belief.”