Larne manager Tiernan Lynch embracing the challenge of trying to defend Sports Direct Premiership crown

The Inver Reds won a first top-flight league crown in style last term after only losing five of 38 matches and conceded just 22 goals in the process to finish six points clear of second-placed Linfield.

Larne come into this Swifts encounter off the back of their 7-1 Europa Conference League second round qualifier aggregate defeat to FC Ballkani after they made a Champions League debut earlier this summer against Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.

With Crusaders and Linfield also producing credible performances in Europe while fellow challengers Coleraine and Glentoran both kicked off their seasons with victories over the weekend, Lynch is embracing the challenges that another Premiership campaign will bring.

"We're looking forward to getting back to another league campaign,” he said. “We know there's a big target on our back now and we have to be better than we were last year. We have to be up for that challenge.

"The league is the way the league is and you see Crusaders were unlucky against a top Rosenborg side which shows you the quality. It'll be nice to get back into domestic football."

Larne have added Craig Farquhar, Ali Omar, Isaac Westendorf, Aidan Dowling, Corey Smith and Levi Ives to their squad this summer while they’ve also agreed a season-long loan deal for versatile Real Salt Lake defender Jaziel Orozco.

Having first played in the top-flight as a teenager with Cliftonville in 2012, skipper Tomas Cosgrove feels the introduction of full-time football has only helped improve the quality.

"I love all the craic between the fans and it's good to see there were Cliftonville fans out watching (against Ballkani),” he said. “Everyone loves the Irish League in their own way.

"I can't wait to get going. Linfield and the Crues both had good showings in Europe so here we go again - the league is going from strength to strength and the full-time football model is only good for this league."

Elsewhere, Dungannon Swifts have announced the signing of midfielder Grant Hutchinson, who returns for a second spell at Stangmore Park.

Hutchinson was part of their BetMcLean Cup winning side in 2018 and is the club’s ninth summer arrival.