Former Arsenal midfielder Mark Randall believes new manager Nathan Rooney is the man to re-energise Larne’s title bid.
Randall’s fellow Englishman will take charge for the first time on Sunday when the champions welcome Cliftonville to Inver Park.
The former Bruno’s Magpies manager will pick up the baton of a Larne side 14 points off the pace, but with four games in hand.
On Thursday night, Rooney watched on from the stands as Larne lost 1-0 to Slovenian league leaders Olimpija in the Stozice Stadion in Ljubljana while interim boss Gary Haveron coached the team.
Randall said: “The new manager has been brilliant since he came in. Obviously, he’s not taken a game yet but he has impressed the boys with the way he talks to people round the camp. He has reenergised the squad.
“We’re all buzzing to work with him and we’re confident we can go on a run now, starting with Cliftonville on Sunday.
“We need to get ourselves up the table and that has to start now. If we can go on a run, we can win this league again.”
A second half header from substitute Ivan Durdov undid a spirited display in the Slovenian capital on Thursday night, but Larne held their own in their fourth Conference League game.
Their best chance fell to Dylan Sloan at the start of the second half, but he pulled his 20-yard effort wide. It’s a minor miracle the young midfielder – suffering from a heavy cough – was even able to play.
Reflecting on the game, fellow midfielder Randall said: “I’m a little bit disappointed because we ran a very good team very close, but didn’t get anything from the game.
“We had the better chances but we weren’t able to put them away, and that’s a shame.
“It shows how far we’ve come over the past few weeks that we’re able to give a team like that a game.”
Club captain Tomas Cosgrove agreed with Randall’s assessment of the game. The defender was a second half sub in the Conference League clash.
He said: “I’m hugely proud of the team, especially considering we were missing a few key players like Andy Ryan. Lads like Paul O’Neill came in and put in a massive shift. He ran his socks off.
“It’s a little frustrating to put all that work in and then concede from a set-piece, but I think we can still be hugely proud of ourselves.
“Yes, they had 80% of the ball. But I actually think we had the better chances from open play.”
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Larne travel to Azerbaijan to play Belarus champions Dinamo Minsk on Thursday December 12, before completing their Conference League campaign with a clash against Belgian sent Gent at Windsor Park a week later.
Cosgrove is confident Larne will make history by becoming the first Irish League club to register a point in the league phase of a Uefa tournament.
He said: “It feels like we’re getting closer to getting a point or more from one of these games.
“Looking back on the four matches so far, Shamrock Rovers is the only game where we really let ourselves down.
“We have two games left and I think we can get a point. I think we deserve that.”
Captain Cosgrove is now confident that Larne can make a title charge under new manager Nathan Rooney, even though they trail leaders Linfield by 14 points.
The Irish League veteran has been impressed by Rooney, who used the Slovenia trip as an opportunity to get to know players, staff and fans.
Cosgrove said: “He’s very enthusiastic. He was in Slovenia getting to know the boys, while leaving the preparation and matchday stuff to Gary Haveron.
“But he’s in charge now and he’s ready to go. It’s his first game on Sunday against Cliftonville and it’s a massive game.
“We can’t afford to get too far behind, so we need to win games like this one. It’s important not to fall too far behind, because I know we can put a run together after Christmas.
“We’re not out of it yet, no way.”