Ruaidhri Higgins believes European progression can only be positive for entire Irish League
Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins hopes to see Irish League clubs competing for spots in the League Phase of European football on a consistent basis, believing it would only help raise the Premiership’s profile.
After Larne created history by becoming the first Irish League team to achieve the feat last season, Linfield are looking to follow in their footsteps in a play-off showdown with League of Ireland champions Shelbourne.
Reaching the League Phase is worth at least £2.7million with the opportunity to bank more depending on results – each win earns another £345,000.
Cliftonville were knocked out at the first qualifying round stage this summer while Dungannon Swifts defeated Vaduz in the first-leg of their second qualifying round clash before losing after extra-time in the reverse fixture.
Larne’s run was only halted by a classy Santa Clara outfit in the third qualifying round, leaving Linfield as the Irish League’s sole representatives in Europe’s third-tier competition.
The Blues have twice came within touching distance of the group stages in recent years, missing out on a spot in the Europa League on away goals to Qarabag before a heart-breaking own goal in the dying seconds of a Conference League play-off against RFS denied them a historic step.
After a summer of impressive recruitment, Higgins’ Coleraine will have their sights set on a European return for the first time since 2021 next summer, and the former Derry City chief believes progression can only be positive for the Premiership.
"100% (I like to see it),” he said. “The more of that we have within the league, the better.
"The profile raises, it attracts more supporters, more players, more investment.
"I would welcome that and I would also like to see more clubs having a go at the full-time model to really progress the league.
"The more positive news coming from our league, the better, and it raises the profile.
"We all want to be part of something that is successful and is a good product. I believe there's real potential in this league."
Larne’s European progress ultimately resulted in a Premiership fixture backlog, playing twice a week throughout most of February and March as they finished 22 points behind champions Linfield.
The Blues have opted to keep playing on the domestic stage, facing Cliftonville at Windsor Park this Sunday between crucial play-off legs, and Higgins believes the testing schedule is a challenge that needs to be embraced.
"You can't have it all ways - part of being successful is playing Saturday, Tuesday or Thursday, Sunday, we have to get used to that,” he added. “Rather than seeing it as a negative, we have to embrace it and I'm sure the powers-that-be at most clubs would welcome that very much."