JEFF Russell can't quite believe that everything that happened in the past year actually did take place, there was so much of it in such a short period of time.
"It was a remarkable year – even for a club like Larne where there have been quite a few that have been full of amazing incidents," said the first team coach.
"Paul Millar's arrival was a breath of fresh air in many ways, but people shouldn't forg
et the work that was done by the 'big man', Graham McConnell.
"This time last year he hadn't got a team at all, two-thirds of the players having walked away after the team lost premiership status," said the hometown unsung hero.
"Graham was faced with a nightmare situation. He wanted to retain all the players who had been playing in the top level so as to try and bring them back up immediately. But most of the players wanted to stay in the premiership and the club wasn't in a financial position to pay them the same sort of wages.
"But, with the help of Linfield and Glentoran who allowed him to sign some players on loan, and by procuring the services of some other very good ones through his hard work and persuasive talents, he built what was a decent squad at Inver Park.
"We got some good results albeit without meeting many of the top teams and also got to the semi-finals of the Steel and Sons Cup and things seemed to be going well.
"But then came the bombshell when he decided to quit. I tried to talk him out of it, asking him to give it a week to consider it all very carefully. But, because he believed the club's goals were not as ambitious as his and they weren't going to get the licence required for the premier league, he decided to go ahead with his decision and that was that.
"In the cold light of day, he realised that maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, but by that stage the interview process was under way and in came Paul Millar as his replacement and Paul Carland as his assistant.
"With his Glentoran contacts, he brought in Jamie Marsh and BJ McMenamin on loan from The Oval and that made an already good squad even better. And the fact that they are now Larne players, along with some of the other loal players, is testament to how well things have moved on.
"We did well in the latter half of the league campaign and should have done even better, only narrowly losing games to teams like Portadown and Donegal Celtic after having a player sent off in what proved crucial decisions.
"Paul Millar, enthusiastic and always 100 per cent committed, quickly won over the dressing room and Paul Carland is well respected and liked by everyone as well. He's quiet and doesn't say much, so when he speaks people listen and his thoughts are deep and meaningful.
"Like Graham, whose contribution to the club was not at all fully appreciated, he never stops working and tonight, Tuesday, we are sitting down to draft out the pre-season fixtures – with a mixture of games against Premiership clubs and Amateur League sides" added Russell, who says he's more than happy to be committed to the club for the foreseeable future.
