Gary Haveron has 'unwavering' belief in Larne's changing room of 'serial winners'

The Inver Reds travel to in-form Dungannon Swifts on Saturday on the back of a 2-1 triumph over Coleraine – a result which meant Haveron’s men leapfrogged the Bannsiders into top spot.

Haveron was part of Tiernan Lynch’s coaching staff when Larne secured consecutive Premiership titles alongside becoming the first Irish League side to qualify for the Conference League’s League Phase last season.

Rather than focusing on current league position, Haveron has his sights set on exacting revenge at Stangmore Park – his side lost out 2-0 in Co Tyrone last month, ending their seven-game unbeaten league run.

They’ve since responded by putting together another streak of six, including four consecutive wins, and Haveron knows performance levels will need to be at a much higher level this time around.

"Not at this stage,” he told the club’s media channel. “Leagues aren’t won and lost at this time of year.

"We’ve got two games in hand, we’re sitting where we want to be, but we have a tough game on Saturday against Dungannon and I’m already starting to think about Dungannon and preparing for that game.

"It’s going to be really difficult coming off the back (of Coleraine). We’ll refresh the boys as best we can and come up with a new game plan because I’ll be honest with you, I just said in the dressing room I was bitterly disappointed with our performance at Dungannon earlier in the season.

"We need to be a hell of a lot better if we want to go there and get a result this time around.”

Defensive solidity was a cornerstone of Larne’s previous Premiership title triumphs and they’re once again showing similar traits – no top-flight team has conceded fewer goals than the Inver Park outfit (seven).

Only Coleraine (35) have scored more than Larne (28), who have been bolstered by the return of Leroy Millar – he netted his first league goal in 18 months on Tuesday evening.

Having been there and done it before, Haveron knows what his Larne squad is capable of.

"You’ve got serial winners in that dressing room, boys that have won back-to-back league titles and boys who have done things that no other players have done,” he added. “They made group stages of the Conference League so I know the quality we have.

"I know the belief I have in the players, it’s unwavering. They’re an outstanding bunch and if they believe in themselves half as much as I do, they can go as far as they want.

"It’s early, we’re happy to have the next three points and we’re chasing the next one. We’ll go again.”