Glenn Taggart believes it was a “no-brainer” for Larne to appoint Gary Haveron as their new manager on a permanent basis and has backed his former team-mate to continue delivering success at Inver Park.

Following Nathan Rooney’s exit after just one match of the current league campaign, Haveron was placed in temporary charge and put together a seven-game unbeaten Premiership run, including six consecutive wins and clean sheets.

It was the second time Haveron had served as interim manager of his hometown club, also stepping up when it emerged that Rooney didn’t hold the required licence to lead Larne in Europe after succeeding Tiernan Lynch.

Haveron has now signed a three-year contract with the Inver Reds and will take charge of his first match in the new role on Saturday when Larne visit Cliftonville.

placeholder image — Gary Haveron has been appointed as Larne manager on a three-year contract. (Photo by Larne FC)

He has previous managerial experience at Carrick Rangers, where Taggart both played alongside and under Haveron, before taking on the top job at Glentoran.

Taggart is delighted to see Larne showing faith in one of their own, and believes the timing is perfect for Haveron to take the reins.

"It's fantastic to see,” said Taggart. “He has been attached to Larne for a long time.

"It's the natural progression for him. I think this is perfect timing for him. He has done the hard yards with Carrick and at the Glens he got a raw deal.

"From then, he has worked his way back up and done a lot of coaching. It's a no-brainer for Larne to appoint him...why wouldn't they give him the job after his recent run?

"There was a lot of negativity about the way Larne played last season, but I haven't heard that in recent months and maybe Gary has put his own stamp on it.

"He's winning games, doing well and I'm sure the players love him because he has a great personality. It's great to see...he's a local man and someone I'm very fond of, it's great to see people you know doing well.

"As well as Larne have done, you're going to have to promote from within, whether that's players or management.

"Tiernan built around the players from Larne, interacting with the community, so it's a perfect fit...everybody knows Gary in this area.

"If it's not broken then don't fix it. Gary has proven over recent times he's more than capable. Rather than looking further afield, if someone is producing the goods within your own club, why shouldn't you promote them?"

Working as a teacher in Larne and managing neighbours Wellington Rec, Taggart has seen the impact the football club’s success has had on the community.

The Inver Reds have enjoyed a golden period, winning back-to-back Premiership titles before Linfield reclaimed the Gibson Cup last season, but Taggart feels Haveron is the ideal man to lead them forward.

"100% he can (continue the success),” he added. “I'm in the community and see it.

"There have been calls for Gary to take over from early on, even the last time before they appointed Nathan. He has that backing.

"Gary is intelligent enough to know that if you don't win games, that will dwindle, but it's the perfect match.

"You have Linfield hitting back by winning the league...I'm sure Larne are hungry to win it again and they've very good players.

"Andy Ryan is out injured, Leroy Millar is only coming back, so I don't see anything negative about the future. I think everything is in place for him to continue Larne's success.

"I know from speaking to fans and being in the community, it's an appointment everybody wanted. He has the ability to win silverware."