Shaun Want says moving to Larne was 'best thing I've done for my career' and wants to help Tiernan Lynch's side dominate the Irish League for years to come

After joining from Hamilton Academical, the 26-year-old centre-back made 32 Premiership appearances last season as Tiernan Lynch’s side lifted their maiden league title alongside a third consecutive County Antrim Shield.

Larne are once again in the hunt this term, battling with Linfield and Cliftonville to regain the Gibson Cup, and Want feels the standard is only going in one direction.

"I've been here 18 months and I would say the standard this year is even better,” he said. “I speak to people back in Scotland and they always ask about the standard.

"If they came and watched they'd be surprised by the standard because I'd say people outside of this country look down on it, but if they sat down and watched a game they'd be surprised.

"Our squad has a lot of Scottish players and Linfield have a few Scottish players too. The more boys we can get from Scotland and England and the more you speak to your mates back home and tell them how good it is...people from the outside probably wouldn't think twice about saying no, but coming here and taking the opportunity was the best thing I've done for my career."

Now that they’ve ticked off a major goal by winning their first Premiership crown, Want and his teammates have a desire to keep adding more silverware to the club’s trophy cabinet.

"When you're champions you have more of a target on your back and this season a lot of teams change their game up against you,” he added. “It took us a while to get used to it at the start and that's why we dropped a few points at the start, but we know every team we play against are going to try and give that extra 10% because they are playing the champions and it's something we need to be prepared for.

"One of the first things that the gaffer and his staff told us when we came in on the first day of pre-season was last season we were champions but that's it done and finished - we need to forget about it.

"We got all the praise last year but we need to earn it again this season. There's no point doing all that hard work to win it and then throw it away the next year.

"Nobody is going to remember the team that just did it for one season, we want to be the team that dominates the Irish League for many years."

Want hasn’t made an appearance since December 2 due to a tear in his quad and while Tuesday’s County Antrim Shield final against Glentoran may come slightly too early for a return, he still stressed the importance of securing a fourth consecutive competition triumph.

"Whether I'm playing or not it would be massive,” he said. “We spoke at the start of the season about wanting to win every competition that we can and this is another chance to get one.

"I came from Scotland where I didn't really win a lot because at Hamilton we were fighting to stay in the league. Then I came over to Larne and had silverware within six months so it's something that was new to me.

"Personally it made me even hungrier and gave me more desire to win more trophies."