How will Irish Premiership clubs reflect on their season?
The rain rarely stopped, but neither did the drama nor talking points during a dramatic season in the Irish Premiership. From the tight title race, heated rivalries and the bid for survival at the bottom of the table, there have been plenty of moments that will go down in the history books. For some clubs, it was a season to remember and for others, they were counting down the minutes until it ended.
BBC Sport NI takes a look back at how each Irish Premiership team will reflect on the 2025-26 season. Larne Larne deservedly lifted this season's Irish Premiership after an impressive campaign. The Inver Reds finished 22 points behind champions Linfield last season and despite plenty of changes and setbacks off the pitch, the side managed to slip under the radar at the start of this season, began strongly, and never looked back.
Defensively, Larne have shown once again that they are hard to break down with new signing Matt Ridley, who picked up the Football Writers' Player of the Year, a standout player and goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson registering 21 clean sheets and playing every minute of the 38-game Premiership campaign. "We dug in, it was a far from straight forward season," said boss Gary Haveron. "We were written off by so many people, and I don't think too many people gave us much of a look in and that maybe worked in our favour as we were able to get on with our work.
" A concern in the summer will be that key striker Andy Ryan is now out of contract. Haveron will be keen to have the Scot stay as they aim to defend their title and bring the Irish Cup back to Inver Park for the first time. Coleraine It has been a whirlwind season for the Bannsiders, who finished second in the Premiership and won the Irish Cup for the first time since 2018.
Marquee signings such as Joel Cooper and Will Patching have impressed during their first season and, if the side can keep the bulk of this squad, it certainly looks like one that could contend for many more trophies. European football next campaign and the backing of owner Henry Ross also give them the chance to strengthen in the summer ahead of a huge year for Ruaidhri Higgin's men. A lot of pressure was put on the side with the signings that they made, and fans will certainly be content with what they witnessed this year.
Continue to the original source for the full article.