Nathan Rooney: A Profile of Larne’s New Manager

Larne supporters are now welcoming a new manager, Nathan Rooney, aged 35, following seven years with Tiernan Lynch at the helm. While Rooney may not have been widely recognized in east Antrim prior to this appointment, he possesses previous connections to the region. Gary Haveron, who served as first team coach under Lynch and is now the assistant manager, will oversee the Uefa Conference League fixture against Olimpija Ljubljana on Thursday. Consequently, Rooney’s inaugural match as manager will be on Sunday against Cliftonville, broadcast live on BBC iPlayer. BBC Sport NI examines the background and qualifications of the new manager at Inver Park. Rooney’s recent activities in European qualifiers over the past few seasons might be more familiar to supporters of Crusaders and Derry City. During his initial season managing FCB Magpies of Gibraltar in 2022, their Uefa Conference League first-round encounter in Belfast against the Crues resulted in a 4-3 aggregate win for the Seaview team. This July, the Magpies defeated Derry City in the Uefa Conference League’s first qualifying round, subsequently progressing to play FC Copenhagen, who are 15-time Danish champions. The team, described as a ‘former pub team’ established in 2013 for only £500, eventually suffered a loss to the club that had reached the last 16 of the preceding season’s Champions League. Nevertheless, their European advancement garnered attention. Despite his comparative youth as a manager, Rooney possesses a diverse footballing resume. Rooney obtained his Uefa A licence at the age of 22, having commenced his coaching career in his late teens within the youth system of his hometown club, Blackburn Rovers. Two years subsequent to this, he held the position of head of youth football at League One club Fleetwood Town, collaborating with managers including Steven Pressley, Graham Alexander, and Uwe Rosler. His subsequent career progression involved becoming assistant manager at Crawley under Italian Cabriele Cioffi, who later managed Udinese and Hellas Verona in Serie A. This was followed by a short period reuniting with Pressley at Carlisle in 2019. In an interview with BBC Sport this summer, Rooney stated, “I’ve worked with some top managers. I’m still a young person on paper but I’m definitely not young in terms of the coaching world with 16-17 years’ experience.” Following a brief tenure with Colne Town in the Northern Premier League, Rooney moved to Magpies in the Gibraltar Football League during the middle of the 2021-22 season. He guided them to a fourth-place finish and the final of the Rock Cup, which is the league’s equivalent of the Irish Cup. The subsequent season saw the team win the Rock Cup and secure a third-place league finish. However, Rooney resigned as manager in May 2023, only to rejoin the club three months thereafter. Rooney, who holds the League Managers Diploma and is currently pursuing the Uefa Pro Licence, subsequently led the team to another third-place finish and their inaugural European victory against Derry City.