Kenny Bruce has apologised to Larne fans following the news that the club's home leg European ties next season will now be played at an alternate venue after Inver Park’s synthetic surface failed one element of the required FIFA Pro Standard pitch test.
In a post on social media Bruce, who has spoken of his dream of having the Champions League music playing at Inver Park, said the "situation sits with me" and vowed that the club would pass any future tests.
That will comes too late for this summer but the Larne owner, despite voicing his frustration at the decision, said the club would continue its drive to have Champions League games at Inver as they bid to follow up their first-ever Irish Premiership title win.
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Bruce posted on Twitter: "Very frustrating. I am sorry to all of our fans. This situation sits with me and I will make sure we pass all pitch tests in the future. I would never of thought our under 5 year old pitch wouldn’t pass the test. We will continue our drive to have Champions League games at Inver."
Under Uefa’s competition rules the club has until June 2 to nominate an alternative home venue and say they will announce where this will be in due course.
“The experts advising us through this process have described us as being ‘victims of our own success’ in that while Inver Park has become such a fantastic community hub which is used seven days per week, this has unfortunately accelerated the wear and tear which has led to the situation we find ourselves in today," General Manager Niall Curneen said.
“As a club, we are and will always be for the town but will learn from this situation and take the advice provided to shape our future use of facilities.
"As part of that, we will now begin the process of exploring the possibility of replacing the surface within the next 12 months.
“Larne Football Club has and aims to continue bringing world football’s biggest club competitions to the town, so we must work together with the relevant stakeholders to find a solution that ensures these games can be played at Inver Park consistently in the future.
“To our supporters, please be assured that we will work with you to make it as easy as possible to attend our home legs in July. While the news is fresh to us all, discussions have already begun around extra transport for home legs."
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