Larne face the prospect of fewer European opportunities after the Irish Premiership dropped out of Uefa's top 50 rankings. Northern Ireland Football League CEO Gerard Lawlor has called the expected loss of a qualification place a "significant setback" for clubs, players and supporters.

Lawlor's warning comes as Larne sit fourth in the Premiership with 19 points from nine games, 13 points behind leaders Linfield. The club's recent form has been mixed, with back-to-back defeats including a 2-1 loss to Linfield last Tuesday. They travel to face 12th-placed Bangor next.

The coefficient drop

The league fell to 51st in Uefa's association coefficient rankings after Georgia's domestic league moved up. This was triggered by Iberia 1999's 1-1 draw with Mjallby in the Uefa Conference League. As a result, the Irish Premiership is set to have only three European spots for the 2028-29 season, down from the current four.

Currently, the top two in the league and the Irish Cup winners qualify automatically for Uefa competitions, with a fourth spot decided by an end-of-season play-off. Lawlor said the collective results of Premiership clubs in Europe have not been good enough. This season, Glentoran, Linfield and Coleraine all fell at the first hurdle. Larne themselves squandered a two-goal aggregate lead to lose to Lincoln Red Imps when just 90 minutes from the Conference League league phase last summer.

A call for change

"We cannot continue doing the same things, in the same way, and expect different outcomes," Lawlor said. He argued that the situation reinforces why NIFL has been pushing clubs to think differently about their future. This includes debates over seasonality, investment, player development and creating a more competitive domestic environment.

Poor European performances are a key factor in the ongoing discussion about switching to a summer football calendar in Northern Ireland. A change would require 75% of NIFL's 38 member clubs to vote in favour.

Lawlor stressed that European football provides vital opportunities and important financial investment. He urged clubs to stop measuring themselves solely against domestic rivals and start measuring against European standards. "We must ask whether our current structures give clubs the best possible opportunity to succeed in Europe," he said. Larne's immediate focus is on arresting their recent slide, starting with the trip to Bangor.

The original report is at bbc.co.uk