Former Coleraine manager Oran Kearney believes there’s a way of changing the Irish League playing calendar to suit all parties, including keeping Boxing Day as a headline act.

Included in the Northern Ireland Football League’s ‘A Bold & Brighter Future for Professional Football’ strategy launched by CEO Gerard Lawlor in September 2023 was a plan to "lead and implement a change to the professional game playing calendar”.

Lawlor confirmed earlier this summer that the organisation have commissioned a deeper report to get further answers surrounding both the positives and negatives of a potential calendar switch.

A survey was released earlier this month to gather fan opinion on the potential of running the Irish League season between May and February – a proposal which received criticism from the likes of Linfield midfielder Chris Shields.

placeholder image — Linfield were beaten by Shelbourne in the Conference League's play-off. (Photo by Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press)

The debate has continued following Linfield’s Conference League play-off defeat to Shelbourne, who had played 27 league matches compared to the Blues’ two in preparation for a crucial fixture.

Boxing Day is the biggest event on the Irish League calendar, attracting bumper crowds across the country, and while ex-Bannsiders boss Kearney can see the importance of keeping it as a focal point, he feels it’s possible to satisfy all parties.

"My take on it would be, I appreciate Boxing Day is a big one for everybody,” he said on BBC Sportsound. “It’s how you fine tune it.

"For me, if the league started in December...so pre-season is in November, the first game of the season is start of December, that would allow you to have Boxing Day and everything else.

"I appreciate family holidays, which I’m a big advocate for, but there’s possibly an argument as you’re coming into the final part of the season, where like a lot of other countries, you incorporate a two or three-week break.

"There’s a lot of conversations, but the big one people are holding on to is Boxing Day, and I appreciate that because it’s brilliant and an unbelievable day for Irish League football.

"I still think there’s a way of incorporating that into it and still getting what everybody would like.”

Following his side’s defeat, Linfield manager David Healy felt there was a sizeable gap between the Irish League and League of Ireland, who now have two teams preparing for League Phase football.

However, Kearney feels a calendar switch would set Premiership clubs up for a better chance of success in Europe.

"We ultimately have a duty to get this right for our clubs so we can compete in Europe,” he added. “The League of Ireland’s pre-season starts in January and the first league game would be around mid-February.

"If Linfield played Shelbourne over two legs at the end of February, I wouldn’t guarantee you that they’d beat Shelbourne, but I would guarantee you that those two games would be a hell of a lot closer than they are at this point in time.

"Linfield would be 30 games into their season and Shelbourne two into theirs. For me, when you look at it in that way, and I think anybody in football would tell you the same, that alone would help shut the gap and that’s the reason we need to look into it.”