'I want to win everything for this club': Gary Haveron outlines silverware desire as Larne look to make Irish Cup history

The Co Antrim club have enjoyed a golden period of success across the past decade, winning two Premiership titles – they remain on track to make that three this season – alongside four Co Antrim Shields, but the Irish Cup remains a notable missing piece from their collection.

Larne have been beaten in six finals throughout their history with the most recent coming in May 2021 when only 1,000 spectators were allowed to watch their showdown against Linfield at Mourneview Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, Larne have reached another two semi-finals – they lost to Ballymena United in 2023 and eventual champions Cliftonville 12 months later – but been unable to take a historic step towards winning Northern Ireland’s most prestigious cup competition.

Haveron was part of Tiernan Lynch’s coaching staff as a star-studded Larne squad upset the Irish League’s status quo, lifting consecutive Gibson Cup crowns, and earlier this season took over the reins himself following Nathan Rooney’s exit.

The former Glentoran chief has masterfully guided his club through a period of change with new owners now in place at Inver Park after Kenny Bruce sold his stake to Redball Global FC in July.

Born and bred in Larne, everything means that bit more to passionate Haveron, who admits he would love to give the club’s faithful supporters a day out to savour in May.

"It (winning on Saturday) means as much to me as winning every single game that I'm involved in for Larne Football Club,” he said. “It makes no difference.

"I want to win absolutely everything I possibly can for this football club, I want to win every minute of every game and that's not going to change whether it’s a semi-final or final.

"Do I want to give our fans a day out and win silverware? Absolutely...we compete for everything that we can.

"We'll 100% give everything we've got, and if we can give our fans a day out and (become the first Larne team to win an Irish Cup), because the club's never done it before, it would be an amazing achievement.

"It’s one we've got to look forward to and embrace. It's a semi-final, it’s a good day out for fans and everyone else, but a semi-final's just all about getting to the final – nobody wants to get a semi-final and for it to stop there.

"You want to go all the way to the final and give your fans the day out that they deserve.

"It's a difficult task. Coleraine have a fantastic squad, fantastic management team and everything else, so it'll be very, very difficult, but we look forward to the challenge."

Haveron has previously voiced his frustrations about the Windsor Park pitch, labelling it as “dreadful for a national stadium” after Larne’s league draw with Linfield in January.

The Belfast venue will host both of this weekend’s Irish Cup semi-finals with Larne vs Coleraine starting around 19 hours after a repeat of last season’s decider between Cliftonville and Dungannon Swifts on Friday evening.

When asked if he had any concerns about getting second use of a difficult playing surface on such a crucial weekend, Haveron added: "It's not going to be ideal for either team.

"We're both teams who want to get the ball down and play...you've just got to overcome it and you've got to embrace the challenge.”

Larne registered an 18th clean sheet of the Premiership season last weekend with a 2-0 home victory over Cliftonville – a result which extended their advantage at the summit to four points with four matches left to play.

Since returning from his nine-match suspension, Aaron Donnelly has once again played a key role in Larne’s impressive defensive record, but Haveron believes his star still doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

"Donzo has been incredible since he came to Larne, he's the most underrated player within the league,” he said. "I think people over the last few seasons have recognised how good he is, but I still think he doesn't get quite the recognition he probably fully deserves.

"I think he's absolutely immense.”