Never miss a thing from Belfast and beyond - sign up for FREE updates direct to your email inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The new season is upon us... Almost four months on from Linfield's Gibson Cup triumph, local football fans are braced for another roller coaster ride of twists and turns in the Irish Premiership.

Ahead of Glenavon and Glentoran 's curtain raiser on Friday evening, we're previewing the chances of all 12 clubs ahead of the start of the 2019/20 campaign.

In part two we look at Institute, Larne, Cliftonville, Glenavon, Carrick Rangers and Warrenpoint Town.

Institute

(Image: Press Eye)

It's been a difficult 2019 for Institute. In February, they lost captain Michael McCrudden to Derry City before manager Paddy McLaughlin joined Cliftonville.

Under Kevin Doherty, 'Stute saw out the season in respectable fashion to finish eighth before John Quigg assumed managerial duties. However, their preparations for the new campaign have been hindered by Quigg's decision to step down after only two competitive games in charge.

While the club have said they are in no rush to replace Quigg, they face a daunting opening game of the season with a trip to Windsor Park to face champions Linfield. The Blues made light work of the north-west side in their three meetings last season with 3-0, 5-0 and 4-1 victories.

Institute, who will once again play their home games at the Brandywell this season, attracted praise for their passing football last season, but have lost another influential player in Ronan Doherty, who linked up with former boss McLaughlin at Solitude.

'Stute have re-signed midfielder Niall Grace from Glenavon but missed out on Ruairi Harkin, who joined League of Ireland side Finn Harps.

Larne

(Image: Press Eye)

Having sealed promotion from the Championship with five games to spare, the Inver Park boys are ready to take the Premiership by storm.

Bankrolled by multi-millionaire Kenny Bruce, who took over in September 2017, Larne have invested impressively in the squad over the summer, signing Johnny McMurray, Albert Watson, Mark Randall, Sean Graham and Conor Mitchell.

Although this is Tiernan Lynch's first crack at top-flight management, the former Cliftonville coach has forged an effective working relationship with his brother Seamus, who is a first-team coach, as well as Irish League legend Tim McCann.

With that triumvirate working under a full-time set-up, the East Antrim side are determined to flourish, not survive, on their Premiership return.

While many fans can't wait for September's mouthwatering clash with Linfield in front of the Sky Sports cameras at Inver Park, the journey begins with the visit of Warrenpoint Town on Saturday.

Cliftonville

(Image: Press Eye)

Last season was not without its ups and downs for Cliftonville but there is a feeling that things are heading in the right direction under Paddy McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, who replaced Barry Gray in February, has instilled a hard-working, winning mentality into a squad that had been under-achieving. Having had time to implement his vision, the former Institute boss is targeting an improvement on last season's fifth-placed finish.

Helping to achieve that target will be a raft of new signings, including Ronan Doherty, Aaron Harkin, Ronan Wilson, Seanna Foster and Conor McDermott, while Reds fans will hope to see the likes of Ryan Curran and Conor McMenamin continue their upward trajectory under McLaughlin.

One of the biggest challenges facing McLaughlin will be tightening a Cliftonville defence which conceded 66 goals last season - 11 more than any other top-six side - and they face a stern examination right from the off with Saturday's trip to Coleraine.

Glenavon

It's been a frustrating few months for Glenavon manager Gary Hamilton. After securing a third-placed finish above Crusaders in April, the Lurgan Blues lost their Europa League play-off to Glentoran.

But Hamilton's woes have been compounded by a transfer window in which Matthew Ferguson has been the only high-profile capture, with the striker hoping to emulate the top-flight scoring exploits of his father Glenn.

While set-piece specialist Tommy Cooney has also arrived, Glenavon may have to largely rely on their admittedly considerable pool of existing talent, which includes free-scoring attacking duo Stephen Murray and Andrew Mitchell, who combined for 27 league goals last term.

One of the positives for Glenavon, of course, has been retaining the services of Rhys Marshall, who attracted interest from Larne earlier in the summer .

With Ballymena United, Cliftonville and Crusaders enjoying more fruitful transfer windows, securing a fifth top-three finish in six seasons will be a big ask for Hamilton.

Carrick Rangers

(Image: PRESSEYE/Tony Hendron)

Carrick return to the Premiership following their relegation in 2018 after seeing off Ards in May's two-legged play-off. However, while Larne have lofty ambitions following their promotion, Carrick are expected to be among the clubs fighting to avoid the drop.

With that, manager Niall Currie has worked hard to ensure he has enough depth in his squad to see him through the season, recruiting plenty of Irish League experience in Willie Faulkner, Mark Kelly, Kyle Cherry and James Ferrin.

Caolan Loughran has also been brought in from Ballymena United following an impressive loan spell at Taylors Avenue last season.

Carrick will likely relish their underdogs status, though. After all, it was Currie's former side Portadown, not them, who were expected to follow Larne up to the Premiership.

But Carrick sprung a surprise when they beat Ports 2-0 in April's pre play-off before getting the better of Ards, another of Currie's former employers. Carrick's re-initiation into Premiership football will begin with a trip to the Shore Road to face Crusaders on Saturday.

Warrenpoint Town

Last season was a hugely encouraging one for Warrenpoint manager Stephen McDonnell. Having been appointed at the age of 26, the Dundalk man comfortably guided Point away from relegation during his first full season at the helm.

A run to the Irish Cup semi-final enhanced his burgeoning managerial reputation, and he will be determined to kick on and improve on last season's 10th-placed finish.

Captain Fra McCaffrey will be hugely influential once again, while a clutch of new arrivals should provide plenty of healthy competition for places.

Point can start this season with a bang, too. Having taken points off Cliftonville, Linfield and Glenavon last season, McDonnell is plotting another scalp when his players take on Larne at Inver Park on Saturday.

How to follow us on social media Here's our main Belfast Live Facebook page. On Twitter, you can follow our account by clicking here. If you're a lover of photos, then check out our Instagram. We've also got dedicated Facebook pages for North, South, East and West Belfast, as well as courts and crime. Sports fans can find all the latest local action over on our Belfast Live Sport Facebook and Twitter and also on Match Online on both Facebook and Twitter.

Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.

Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.

Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .