Larne vs St Gallen: Tiernan Lynch offers brutally honest verdict on side's current status

Tiernan Lynch accepts Larne have "a bit to go" to catch their counterparts in the League of Ireland.

Lynch's Premiership champions were humbled by Shamrock Rovers last time out in the UEFA Conference League, falling to a disappointing 4-1 defeat at Windsor Park.

That game had been billed as a massive 'North vs South' showdown, explosive rhetoric which Lynch accepts he bought into during the build-up to the fixture.

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Looking back he admits he probably got too caught up in the hype and fanfare surrounding the all-island clash.

"I am our league's biggest advocate. I scream from the rooftops about our league and how much it has progressed over the past number of years. There has been a huge amount of progression, but I do feel we are behind the League of Ireland," he said.

"I won't sit here and tell lies. If you look at that Rovers game, and this is no disrespect to our group or team, but the quality Rovers had on the pitch compared to us in certain areas, we do have a bit to go.

"Physically, athletically, professionally, I feel we have a fair bit to do. I also feel a huge part of football is learning from mistakes.

"I had a conversation with Rovers manager Stephen Bradley, and talked about how we are where Rovers were several years ago when they lost all of their games on their debut European campaign. So this is something we will be stronger for.

"Even as a group, the lead-up to the Rovers game and the hype. There were times in the training sessions when we had three or four cameras, and once it was all done we went into the training centre on Saturday morning and it was just us. That up and down is something we have to get better at and get used to.

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"Something we have to be more resilient with in our own minds. This group will embrace that."

Larne wrote their names into the history books this season by becoming the first Irish League team to reach the group stages of European competition.

Two games into the league phase of the UEFA Conference League and it has been a baptism of fire for the Invermen. They lost their opening game to Molde (3-0) before suffering a 4-1 loss against Shamrock Rovers.

Next up it's Swiss side St Gallen at Windsor Park on Thursday night.

Lynch said: "We were hugely disappointed as a team (after the Rovers game). We felt we let ourselves down and we let an element of football in Northern Ireland down. In a sense that we are better than what we showed on the night.

"The whole game plan went out the window after three minutes when Rovers scored. We had to start chasing the game.

"I say this day in, day out, that this group of players work so hard, even when things aren't going that well. So it was one we had to regroup and look at certain areas of the game where we need to do better.

"We knew we needed a bigger response from certain situations. And the players have done that during my time here, they have consistently rolled their sleeves up. And hopefully they do that tomorrow night."

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Lynch admits European football has been a steep learning curve for both himself as manager, and his players.

He added: "In hindsight, looking back at the Rovers game and we will never shy away from the truth, we probably approached that game wrongly. We should have felt our way into the game more, been tighter and more compact.

"We should have respected their quality a bit more than what we did and we got punished for that. If we were doing it again we would have done things differently but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

"I don't know if they got overawed by the occasion, I probably got caught up in the 'North v South' thing and are we closer than what we are? Is there a narrow gap? - if I was doing it tomorrow I would approach it differently.”

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