EXACTLY a year after being appointed Larne manager, Paul Millar can look back with a fair measure of satisfaction on a job well done. But that will count for nothing if the team doesn't continue to improve in the coming months, the Inver Park boss has said.
Millar proved a good choice for Larne Football Club last December. He quickly set about recruiting his good pal and former Inver Park captain Paul Carland as his number two, while also persuading popular local man Jeff Russell to stay on as part of
the backroom staff.
The ex-Bangor boss, aided by some excellent new recruits, has watched his team make steady progress since his arrival. But how does he reflect on his first year at the helm?
“It’s been terrific and we are really, really enjoying the challenge and for that a lot of thanks has to go to my assistants and backroom staff, the board and the supporters for all their help. I could not have asked for much more from anybody and I hope they are as happy with where we are as I am.”
“When we took over there were a lot of on-loan players, with a higher wage bill and lower table position and we immediately set out to change all that. And I’m delighted to say we have succeeded in all those aims.
“Towards the end of the season, our team was playing pretty well but, while that was a huge improvement on what went before, the unfortunate aspect was that we were not getting the results we deserved because we were not scoring goals.
“The arrival of Davy Larmour, on a two-year deal and still only 31 years old, was a key factor in changing that and we also made significant captures in BJ McMenamin and Ryan Brown, who – in my opinion – is probably the best goalkeeper in the all the leagues, including the Premiership.
“Looking at the squad, we generally have a very young side with an average age of just 21 and that has to be great for the future. Sometimes we don’t get the results or play as well as we would all like, but we have a plan and that’s all part of the process and we knew it would be like this.
“This league is very unpredictable and three or four wins on the spin would hoist you right to the top, while even a very small setback could see you drop down four or five places.
“But generally speaking, we are making tremendous progress and, given the great backing from the board and wonderful support from the terraces, I hope this is continuing for the foreseeable future. It’s always encouraging when I hear Paul and Jeff say that they have seen certain supporters who hadn’t been here for years, so I would urge more people to come and watch us,” added Millar.
The manager gave the players a nice little Christmas present break with the whole of last week off, but the pressure is now mounting on them to reward him with a set of league points on either side of New Year’s Day, especially in the wake of defeat to Ballymoney United last time out.
Lasat night (Wednesday), they were due to head off to meet Millar’s former club at Clandeboye Park and on Saturday they entertain struggling Armagh City as visitors to Inver.
