Linfield chairman Roy McGivern admits it’s no surprise to see continued outside investment into the Irish League with the product becoming increasingly more attractive – but says it’s not a top priority for the Blues at this current stage with “money no guarantee of success”.

In the past six months, new Coleraine owner Henry Ross has stated his desire to turn the Bannsiders into the Premiership’s “leading club” while Cliftonville are set to be taken over by the Toronto Investment Group after members accepted a proposal last month.

It means Northern Ireland’s top-flight could have five full-time teams next term, increasing the competition further for not only major honours but also European football with four spots up for grabs on the continental stage.

Linfield comfortably fended off their challengers last season, winning the Premiership title in record speed by becoming the first team to seal Gibson Cup glory before the split, but with the Irish League landscape ever-changing, it’s expected the battle will only get more fierce in the coming years.

placeholder image — Linfield chairman Roy McGivern (right) with manager David Healy. (Photo by Freddie Parkinson/Press Eye)

The Windsor Park outfit will earn a financial windfall from returning to Champions League qualifying this summer, where they’ll be one of the seeded teams in the first round, giving David Healy’s side a genuine chance of progression and potentially following in the footsteps of Larne by reaching the Conference League – an achievement worth millions.

They also have one of the country’s best academies, consistently developing players for moves across the water, and while seeking investment is not a short-term necessity, McGivern admits it’s something that will likely be on their radar in the future.

"We're very stable financially and being in the Champions League next year brings rewards and hopefully we can make some progression in Europe next season,” he told the News Letter. “I think longer term...you're not guaranteed to win the league every year so investment could be a way of remaining competitive longer term.

"That's something for another day and not something that's particularly urgent in our priorities.

"Money is no guarantee of success as you've seen at some clubs over recent seasons.

"There's no doubt the league is attractive to investment and we seen last year the rewards that Larne achieved for getting into the League Phase of the Conference League, so clearly there are rewards there and it's not surprising to me that it's attracting investment.

"Does it make the league more competitive? Possibly, and recent developments at Coleraine and Cliftonville might change things again.

"We're on record ourselves as saying we're open to investment in the future, not to sell the club but bring investment in. It's becoming a very interesting league and possibly more competitive."

McGivern has now served in his role at Linfield for over eight years, during which time the South Belfast outfit have won six Premiership titles, three League Cup crowns, two Irish Cups and they’ll embark on an eighth European adventure this summer.

Since being appointed at Windsor Park, McGivern has witnessed a host of changes across the Irish League as clubs look to compete for silverware with Larne undoubtedly the biggest success story of recent times.

Under the ownership of Kenny Bruce, the Inver Reds have went from languishing in the Championship to creating history by qualifying for the Conference League alongside collecting two Gibson Cups.

While McGivern has immense respect for Larne’s journey and achievements, he doesn’t believe every club that tries to follow them will have the same results as the Premiership continues to improve.

"The ways clubs are set-up and where clubs get their income from has changed over the years,” he added. “There's no doubt the developments at Larne and where they've come from in getting promoted and building the whole infrastructure down there...I think they've done it really well and I have a lot of respect for the people at Larne.

"Other clubs have tried to mirror that and haven't had the same level of success so it's not always a guarantee of success by putting in investment.

"The league has become more professional, more competitive and I think that's only going to grow when you see the likes of Dungannon Swifts with what they've done by winning the Irish Cup and getting into Europe.

"It's not only the traditional big clubs, I think all clubs are making great strides forward and that can only be good for the future of Irish League football."

Having reclaimed their Irish League throne, Linfield will now look to build again from a position of strength and McGivern admits planning for next term is already well underway.

One key component to those ambitions is manager Healy, who has received interest from Scottish Premiership sides Dundee and Kilmarnock as they look to fill their respective vacancies, but McGivern is determined to keep him in the Windsor Park dugout and says talks over a new contract have started.

"We don't rest on our laurels and we're determined to keep building and moving forward,” he said. “Planning for next season is already well advanced and we look forward to the challenge again.

"We’ve had a fantastic season and David has a year left on his contract so there’s not any great urgency in this, but we have been having discussions and hopefully that will come to a conclusion fairly soon. It’s not a surprise to see speculation.

"Last year there was also interest in David and when you have the record that David has had at Linfield then it’s not surprising that other clubs show interest, but he’s fully committed to Linfield, he loves the club and really enjoyed the success last season.

"Planning is well advanced for next season and David is an integral part of that. We look forward to continue working with him next season and beyond.”