Larne manager Nathan Rooney says belief is key to the Irish Premiership club's ambitions of progressing in the Uefa Conference League as they prepare to face Prishtina of Kosovo.
Larne manager Nathan Rooney says his side must understand that they are "better than they think they are" if they are to make further progress in the Uefa Conference League this season.
The Invermen beat Latvian side Auda 4-2 on penalties in Riga after their first qualifying round tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.
They now face FC Prishtina of Kosovo in the second qualifying round, with the first leg at Ballymena Showgrounds on Thursday evening.
Larne made history by becoming the first Irish League club to qualify for the league stages of a major European competition last season, picking up their first points in a 1-0 win over Belgian side Gent at Windsor Park in December.
"I've learnt that the squad needs to believe they are better than they think they are. We want to punch above our weight again and we want to do that by playing a bit more football," Rooney told BBC Sport NI ahead of the first leg.
"We want to play our way. We don't want to be adapting to other clubs' styles and how different countries play.
"Preparations have been really good. We're fresh and we're hungry so hopefully we can mirror last week's performance."
League stage 'where you want to be'
Rooney expects a stern test against the 11-time Kosovan league champions.
"They're very strong, they've got a great mentality," reflected the Larne boss of his side's opponents.
"It's going to be a quick game, probably much the same as the second leg against Auda. Probably very open, very expansive."
Conor McKendry scored one of the goals in the east Antrim club's 2-2 draw last week and the winger is looking forward to another European challenge.
"We've had a look at them and we're going with positivity. We've shown in the last few years that we can compete with good sides and hold our own against them," said McKendry.
"We've prepared well, the backroom staff have done their homework and we've spoken a lot about them. We have a game-plan to go out and try and get another victory.
"That [the league stage] is where you want to be. You want to play at the highest level you can and I think to do that this season after the experience we gained last year, we could maybe acquit ourselves better this year with that bit more experience under our belts."
Category: General Sports
