Irish League boss confident Linfield's David Healy and Larne's Tiernan Lynch would thrive across the water

Forsythe came up against Lynch’s Larne on Tuesday evening when his Premier Intermediate League leaders lost out 4-0 in their County Antrim Shield semi-final showdown.

Lynch has achieved significant success since taking charge of the Inver Park outfit in 2017, guiding them to Championship promotion, three consecutive County Antrim Shield crowns and a first-ever Premiership title in the club’s 134-year history last season, which booked their spot in Champions League qualifying.

Northern Ireland’s record goalscorer Healy has won 11 honours, including five league titles and two Irish Cups, at Windsor Park since replacing Warren Feeney just over eight years ago and was linked with a move to League Two club Grimsby Town last month – speculation which he dismissed at the time.

Given their respective track records in the Irish League, Forsythe has no doubt that the duo would prove a hit across the water.

"If you give people like that the tools, I'm confident they could produce without question,” he said. “In England there are better facilities and infrastructure, and I have no doubts the likes of Tiernan and David would absolutely flourish with that opportunity.

"We're a small country and can only do so much, but if you look in years gone by, David Jeffrey and Roy Coyle could have done it. With the success David Healy has had in winning five league titles, it's absolute rubbish to say they couldn't do it.

"For me, being a manager is about being a winner. You have wonderful coaches who can put on a great training session, but for me that's not a manager - you need to have a will to win and instil that in every element of a football club.

"Managers make a club winners and both Tiernan and David have done that, so I have no doubt that if they got a job in England and the tools that they'd prepare a team every bit as well because they've shown the ability they have."

Forsythe, who was manager at Knockbreda before taking Lisburn-based Ballymacash from Mid-Ulster Intermediate A to within touching distance of the Championship last season, has great respect for Lynch having came up against him on a number of occasions in the second-tier.

"I remember Tiernan getting the Larne job and they were something like bottom of Championship One without a win in their first nine or ten games,” he added. “It's one thing having money, but Tiernan is the one that has went and made it work.

"He went and got the players and as the club has developed and got better, he's stayed with it, developed and changed to take the club where they are now.

"When they went up people were saying that Larne had fallen short and there were questions asked, and then he went and won the Premiership. You can't have anything but respect for him. He's under a real spotlight and delivered every single time.

"If I could be a quarter as successful as Tiernan has been at Larne under our own remit you'd take it all day long.”