Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AN URGENT MESSAGE
Lynch orders his players to show more drive and determination
LARNE boss Tiernan Lynch has warned his players they’ll have to show more “urgency and drive” to keep pace with Linfield in the title race.
The Blues opened up a five point gap at the weekend thanks to a 2-1 win over third placed Crusaders at Seaview while the Inver Reds slipped up at home to Warrenpoint.
Riding high at the summit in December, Larne now find themselves in the midst of a New Year blip, having won just one of their last six league outings.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Warrenpoint made it four home games without a win following recent losses to Ballymena United and Coleraine and a share of the spoils with Glentoran.
“There can be no excuses and we’ve got to face up to it,” said Lynch ahead of tonight’s home clash with Portadown.
“The high standards we have set weren’t there at the weekend and we have to go and put that right. Tuesday night is a big game for us now.
“I want to see more urgency and I want to see us getting back on the ball again. I want to see us playing and doing the things we enjoy.”
Larne, whose last home win in the league was against Linfield on December 11, took an early lead against Warrenpoint on Saturday, only to succumb to a late equaliser.
“We didn’t really get going and got what we deserved,” said Lynch.
“I don’t know why that happened, whether it’s because we’ve played a lot of games recently and maybe tiredness kicked in, albeit we tried to rotate and make some changes.
“Scoring early was probably the worst thing that could have happened, because we took our foot off the gas and lacked the drive and determination we normally play with.
“All year we’ve been so dominant and played on the front foot, but on Saturday, it wasn’t there.
“We didn’t get ourselves going and we have to try and go again now.”
Influential centre back Josh Robinson, who picked up an achilles injury in a 1-1 draw with Glentoran 11 days ago, remains a major doubt.
ROBBIE NEILSON has targeted the Emerald Isle as he goes hunting hidden gems to make his Hearts side sparkle.
But according to former Tynecastle hero Stephen Elliott, the Jambos boss has already struck gold by snapping up the League of Ireland’s brightest talent from last season.
Aaron Mceneff came off the bench to make his debut in Friday night’s slog at Ayr.
Despite awful conditions, former Shamrock Rovers and Derry City star Mceneff displayed a poise and desire to get in behind Ayr in an advanced midfield role that had Jambos fans purring.
Elliott, a hero of Hearts’ 2012 Scottish Cup-winning side, said: “Aaron is a great signing for Hearts. He’s at a good age and will feel he has a point to prove after
stepping up a level.
“Aaron is a combative midfielder, the type you don’t see too often now that do both ends of it and get up and down the pitch.
“He can put a tackle in, he’s very fit and athletic but he also knows how to score.
“He was a golden boy, the fans’ favourite because he’s an exciting player and was a big part of Shamrock Rovers’ success the last few years. Undoubtedly he was one of the main reasons why they won the league for the first time in nine years.
“Aaron’s performances have been noted by Stephen Kenny too as he got the call up for the national team.
“I was quite surprised to see Hearts come in for him to be honest. I never really thought Hearts would be looking at Shamrock Rovers as much as other clubs – but I’m delighted it’s happened.
“Hopefully this can be a good combination for both the player and the club.”