Gary Haveron wants to lead Larne to another "pinch yourself" European moment as they stand on the brink of the Conference League group stage. The Inver Park side hold a commanding 2-0 aggregate lead over Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps ahead of Thursday's play-off second leg.

Haveron managed three of Larne's games during their debut campaign in the competition two years ago. He said the memory of that achievement remains vivid. "It's what you live for," the Larne manager told reporters on Tuesday. "The nights down here, I look back to when we played the Imps here two years ago when we got to the group stages and it was something that will live long in the memory for me, up there with my best night in football."

Late goals from Paul O'Neill and Kevin O'Hara in last week's first leg have put the Irish Premiership champions in a strong position. Qualification for the league phase comes with a financial reward of £2.7m. Haveron, however, warned his players against any complacency, referencing Celtic's recent Champions League exit as a cautionary tale.

'We're in a better position'

The 45-year-old former defender insisted his squad is better equipped now than during their first European adventure. "We are in a better position because we've learned a lot from what we've done previously," Haveron said. "But there's still learning to be done and we want to continue to learn in Europe from being there."

In the 2024-25 Conference League, Larne lost five of their six matches and finished 34th out of 36 teams. Their European run also contributed to a domestic fixture backlog that saw them finish 22 points behind Linfield that season, before they bounced back to win the league title last term. Haveron pointed to the club's growing continental experience. "This is our 38th [European] game in the past six years," he said. "That's a wealth of experience we've picked up and we've learned lessons along the way."

For the decisive second leg, Haveron confirmed Larne will stick to their attacking principles. "We have to approach it like we approach every game at Inver Park," he added. "We can't be any other way."

He acknowledged the quality of the opposition, who they also beat in a 2024 play-off. "Imps have our utmost respect, they're a really good team so we know difficult it'll be but we have to try and impose our gameplan on them," Haveron stated. Larne's full squad list for the European campaign is available on the squad section. The tie is poised for a conclusion on Thursday night in County Antrim.