Lynch to stay at Larne despite St Johnstone approach

Larne boss Tiernan Lynch has rejected the chance to take over the vacant managerial position at Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone.

Lynch, who took over as Larne manager in 2017 and has won back-to-back Irish Premiership titles, had been the subject of an approach from the Saints last week.

The Perth club have been without a manager since the dismissal of Craig Levein earlier this month after a run of four straight defeats.

That prompted speculation that Friday night's 3-1 win over Cliftonville could be former Glentoran assistant manager Lynch's last game in charge of the Inver outfit.

It was reported that owner Adam Webb had identified Lynch as his prime target and that it was down to the club to agree a financial package with the 44-year-old.

However, he will now remain at Inver Park and oversee preparations for their Uefa Conference League trip to Molde on Thursday, after guiding the club into the league phase of the competition.

In doing so, Larne became the first club from Northern Ireland to qualify for the group or league phase of a major European competition.