Gary Haveron feels it's 'a bit early' for Larne's showdown with Linfield to have Premiership title impact

The Blues have opened up a five-point advantage at the summit over second-placed Cliftonville and are 11 points better off than defending champions Larne, who have played three games fewer due to qualifying for the UEFA Conference League.

Larne were in a similar position last season when they travelled to Windsor Park almost one year ago to the day, knowing defeat that evening would have allowed David Healy’s side to go 11 points clear at the top, but goals from Mark Randall and Joe Thomson sealed victory and they ultimately went on to lift a second consecutive Gibson Cup five months later.

While Tiernan Lynch’s men have struggled for consistency in the early stages of this term, they’ve now won three of their last four across competitions and reached a fifth straight Co Antrim Shield final by beating Crusaders 2-0 on Wednesday evening.

This is a fixture which Larne have performed well in over recent years – they’ve only lost one of nine league games at Inver Park against Linfield since they returned to the top-flight in 2019 – but Haveron isn’t getting carried away with its importance in the bigger picture.

"I think it's a wee bit early for that because we are so few games in,” he told the club’s media channel. “I remember one time going to Windsor and if we'd lost that game we'd have been 11 points behind and we'd played the same amount of games.

"With the games in hand it's hard to tell and we have to chalk off one at a time. We have to focus and put every effort into the next performance and the next team, which is Linfield, so our full attention will be on that game.

"We'll not look beyond that. We go out to win every single match we play in and that doesn't change ahead of Saturday."

Larne’s top goalscorer Andy Ryan missed last weekend’s 2-1 Premiership win over Coleraine but should be available for the Blues’ visit while Leroy Millar continues to ramp up his recovery from a long-term injury and Tomas Cosgrove is expected back in the next couple of weeks after picking up an issue in their Conference League defeat to Shamrock Rovers.

Inver Park has enjoyed some special nights in recent times, including when Ryan netted a hat-trick to seal their historic European progression, and Haveron wants another occasion to remember on Saturday.

"The crowd makes a massive difference for us playing here at Inver,” he added. “We know the importance and role they play and I hope they come and get behind the team.

"You go back to the Lincoln Red Imps game that night, the atmosphere was electric and that's what we want to have here on Saturday. It's a big game and we want to continue the momentum we have.

"We're starting to get players back fit...Leroy's back running and Chucky (Ryan) will hopefully be back for the weekend. It bodes well that we're getting players back at the right time."