Tiernan Lynch insists he's at Derry City for the long haul

​Stopping short of making bold predictions about league positions or challenging for silverware in 2025, Lynch expressed his wish to 'achieve great things' at the football club during his tenure.

The Belfast man signed a three-year deal with the Candy Stripes last month but he wants to make a lasting imprint both on and off the field.

He has a track record of achieving just that at Larne where he helped transform the Inver Reds into back-to-back Irish Premiership champions who boast an enviable youth academy and first team facilities. It's a similar mission he's accepted at Derry City and he's intent on delivering.

"I hope it's a very exciting 2025," said Lynch as the club officially began pre-season training yesterday. "I'm never going to sit and make promises of where this club is going to finish or what it's going to do or what we can go to achieve.

"I genuinely believe this club can achieve whatever it wants. The only promises that we'll make is that during 2025 we will leave absolutely everything we have at this football club to try and bring the success it deserves."

The City boss can't wait to get back on the training pitch and start preparations for the new Airtricity League campaign which kicks-off for Derry against champions Shelbourne at Tolka Park on February 14th.

"I'm looking forward to getting in among the players. I'm looking forward to getting in among the fans and I just hope and pray that they come out in their numbers and get behind us and we can go on and achieve great things."

Lynch knows there will be high expectations at Derry who have been knocking at the door for that elusive league title during the past three seasons but he's also looking at the bigger picture.

"I didn't want to come into Derry City and just be first team manager. I wanted to try and come in here and properly ingrain ourselves in everything to do with the football club. From top to bottom.

"Ultimately I'm going to be judged on results on a Friday night and where you finish in the league table and European football which goes with it. That's not something that we're shying away from or something that we're putting on the back burner - that's first and foremost.

"But at the same time I think to go where we want to go with the club longer term, this is not a quick fix, not in our eyes. We want to be here for the long haul.

"It's a really exciting football club. It's a really exciting venture. The league's going from strength to strength and we want to be a part of that.

"I think about where we want to go, to get into every strand of that club. We have to have a very strong academy. We have to build a really good relationship with the fans. We have to listen to them. We have to understand what they want for this football club and our job is to then go and try to deliver on that."