Tiernan Lynch 'did it the right way' as he's hailed as 'big coup' for Derry City

Paddy McLaughlin knows what it's like being at the coal-face of football at Derry City, and he believes the Candystripes have landed a "big coup" in recruiting Tiernan Lynch as manager.

Former Larne boss Lynch was confirmed as the Brandywell club's new boss last week, bringing the curtain down on a hugely successful seven-and-a-half-year spell at Inver Park.

During his time at Larne, Lynch elevated the club from the Championship to become back-to-back Irish Premiership champions. They also became the first Irish League club to ever qualify for the group stages of European competition.

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His influence stretched beyond the first-team pitch, however, with Lynch and majority shareholder Kenny Bruce inspiring Larne's academy which helped transform the club from second tier underdogs to kings of the Prem.

Former Derry City assistant manager McLaughlin, who is now at Glenavon, believes Lynch "did it the right way" at Inver, and believes the 44-year-old will devise a similar blueprint at the Brandywell.

"It is a big coup for Derry City. Tiernan has done an unbelievable job at Larne down the years and brought immense success to the club," McLaughlin said.

"He built the club from top to bottom , and he did it the right way, over a period of time. Some managers try to do everything at once and it doesn't work. It falls down around you.

"Tiernan did it right, and that's a big reason why Derry went for him. Tiernan built Larne from the academy to first-team, and that was a big part of the club's success."

Derry City were bang in contention for the League of Ireland Premier Division title last season but faltered down the stretch, eventually finishing fourth in the table behind champions Shelbourne. They also flopped in the FAI Cup final, losing 2-0 to Drogheda United.

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That prompted the departure of Ruaidhri Higgins as manager, and Lynch was quickly identified as the club's number one target.

"I am sure Tiernan will do something similar at Derry because the club is a wee bit flat at the minute. They are disappointed how the season ended," McLaughlin said.

"They had a chance to record a league and cup double but couldn't get over the line. It will take someone like Tiernan to go in and lift the club again."

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