Departing Larne boss Tiernan Lynch says that the timing of his exit from the east Antrim club was “probably perfect” as he prepares to begin a new challenge as manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City.

Lynch was announced as Ruaidhri Higgins’ replacement at the Candystripes on Monday night and brought the curtain down on a remarkable seven and a half years in charge of Larne with a 2-0 BetMcLean Cup last-16 win over Institute on Tuesday night.

The former Cliftonville assistant’s time at the helm saw him transform the fortunes of the Invermen from Championship strugglers to back-to-back Irish Premiership champions with the backing of owner Kenny Bruce.

He also made history by guiding Larne to the league stages of the Uefa Conference League during the summer.

After watching his reign end on a high, Lynch reflected that it had been “an unbelievable journey at an unbelievable football club”.

“Larne was never going to last forever and I think the timing was probably perfect,” he told BBC Sport NI.

“When we looked at our vision seven and a half or eight years ago of what we wanted to do and what we wanted to try and achieve, we were clear in our mind of where we wanted to go.

“In the summer we were able to achieve the last piece of the jigsaw and it’s probably time for a change, for a new voice and give those players something to kick on again and even for our own sake a new challenge, an unbelievable opportunity for us and something we’re very proud and privileged to be asked to be part of.”