Former Irish League manager outlines League of Ireland differences and gap that's 'not huge or couldn't be closed'
Former Larne manager Tiernan Lynch has outlined the differences between the Irish League and League of Ireland after his first season in charge of Derry City.
After creating history with the Inver Reds by winning two Premiership titles and guiding the Co Antrim club to the Conference League, Lynch led the Candystripes to second place in the Premier Division during the most recent campaign.
There are a number of major differences between the leagues – the League of Ireland’s top-flight has 12 full-time teams compared to four in the Irish League while the calendar is another talking point.
Having spent the majority of his coaching career in the Irish League, Lynch is an advocate for Northern Irish football, and while he acknowledges there’s a difference in player quality, he’s convinced it’s not “a gap that couldn't be closed”.
"The biggest thing is every game is massive,” he said on BBC Sportsound. “The fans they have, the atmosphere at every game...you go to Cork and they have 4,000 at their games, you go to Drogheda and they have 3,000 or 3,500 at their games.
"Every game feels like a spectacle, you feel like you're in a game. I think there's a huge element of it being when it's played and a huge element down to the league and the season of the league.
"Take me for example, last night (Friday) I should have got out of my house and watched Glentoran vs Dungannon, and I'm a massive Irish League fan...if that had been a really nice night, I definitely would have been at that game.
"I totally get the traditionalists talking about Boxing Day...this is something I'm looking forward to because I cried enough about when I was at Larne of going into your first European game having played two or three friendlies. All these things are a huge factor.
"There's also an element that every team in the League of Ireland is full-time and you can tell. Whether this is right or wrong, if maybe things aren't going so well at Larne and you're looking at the league table thinking 'if we can get to there, if we can get them at home, that should be a win and can kickstart us again' - when you look at the League of Ireland, Galway could be ninth but you're thinking 'away to Galway is a nightmare', or Cork were relegated and you're thinking 'Cork is a tough game, hostile'.
"Playing in front of bigger crowds helps you raise your game. You go to anyone who plays in cup semi-finals or finals, Boxing Day games, there's no motivation required. That's a big difference.
"There's a difference in the players, no doubt, but it's not huge or a gap that couldn't be closed.
"Without a shadow of a doubt I'm convinced if the same resource was there...maybe we weren't a good example at Larne when we played Rovers, who are a top side, but if you had Linfield, Glentoran, Cliftonville, Coleraine really thriving, understanding the levels and all goes with it, I think they would definitely improve."