Larne’s majority shareholder Nick Giannotti has praised “fantastic” Gary Haveron for stepping up and delivering Premiership title glory, highlighting the importance of stability at Inver Park.

Haveron was initially appointed as interim manager following Nathan Rooney’s departure after just one match of the league season before taking on the job permanently in October.

The former Glentoran chief led his hometown club to a third Gibson Cup crown across the past four seasons as Larne finished three points clear of Coleraine at the summit.

Haveron has played a crucial role during Larne’s golden period of success – he was part of Tiernan Lynch’s backroom staff for their first two title triumphs and was boss for the club’s most famous win, a 1-0 Conference League victory over Gent in December 2024.

placeholder image — Larne manager Gary Haveron celebrates with the Gibson Cup. (Photo by Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press)

He’ll now lead Larne into another Champions League qualifying campaign as the Inver Reds target a European run and Giannotti was delighted by Haveron’s impact.

"Gary stepped up at the beginning of the season...it was an important one for me,” he said on BBC. “It set the tone and everybody responded in a tremendous manner.

"I'm so proud to see them come through against the odds, against teams spending money, making big changes. We stuck to our guns and said 'these are our guys'.

"Gary is fantastic. His personality speaks for itself, the way he stepped in when he took over from Nathan, the way he's composed and rallied everybody around it, the way he walks about town because this is his community, it's really special.

"I'm really proud of him. We have a great relationship, we always have fun chats, and I love that he follows along with the other things in my life too.”

Giannotti’s Redball Global acquired an ownership stake in Larne from Kenny Bruce, who was the mastermind behind the Co Antrim’s club charge from Championship strugglers to Premiership kings, in July.

"I say it all the time that Kenny did such a fantastic job getting things moving at Larne,” added Giannotti. “It's got to be so special for the community to see where we've come since he came back to Larne and everything he has done and how special it has become.

"Kenny's been wonderful and throughout the entire season he has supported me. He's been telling me we're going to win the league and I was staying calm.

"When I reflect on things, last year when I took over Athlone Town, the ladies won the cup and league and we went to the third round of Europe.

"When I got involved with Plymouth Argyle, the first season we got promoted to the Championship and won the league.

"I come in and want to set the tone, want to have a winning spirit about us, and that's what they responded to. It has been great.”

Larne have a number of key players secured on long-term contracts as they look to continue building on recent success.

"I think stability is a key component,” said Giannotti. “If you don't have stability, if you have chaos, it's really hard to build on that foundation.

"That's why when we evaluated contracts and looked at those things, that stability is what I feel can drive us to a stronger future.”