Premier clubs seek to net goalkeeper Brown

"I expect him to sign for Larne when he becomes available shortly,” said Millar of the experienced Shannon, who has been around quite a few clubs in his time – Sunderland, Brighton, Halifax, Scarborough, Portadown, Dungannon Swifts, Ballymena United, Linfield and Crusaders prior to his stint at Taylor’s Avenue.

"I tried to sign him last summer, but he opted to stick with Carrick and then had a big fall-out with the manager and hasn’t played in the latter half of the season,” the Larne boss added, although the reason given by Stephen Small for Shannon’s quitting was “personal reasons” which restricted his ability to play on Saturdays.

Millar will need a new man between the sticks, because he says Ryan Brown will definitely not be at Inver Park come August. "Whether it’s Linfield, Glenavon or Ballymena United, I can’t be sure, but I do know that Ryan will be fielding for somebody in the Premier League in the new season.

“He has served us very well, but his contract is up at the end of June and he’ll be gone by then,” said Millar, who has responded to the annoyance expressed by opposite number Small for allegedly contacting three Carrick players without observing the normal procedure.

"There’s an accepted practice when it comes to speaking to players belonging to other clubs and Paul didn’t adhere to the protocol,” claimed an upset Carrick boss.

"A courtesy call should be made to the manager to ascertain the situation with regard to the players and seeking permission to speak to them. That’s how I do it and it’s what I expect others to do. I’d like to speak to two or three Larne players, but I wouldn’t go behind his back to talk to them.

"Yet here we have the Larne manager making contact with Glen Hand, Barry Bloomer and Darren McNamee with a view to getting them down to Inver Park and none of their contracts are up until the end of the summer recess.

"They are all figuring in my plans for next season and I’ve been offering them terms so it doesn’t help the situation when another manager comes along and unsettles them like this. In fact, it’s very unhelpful. A manager’s job is hard enough, but we can make it less cumbersome for one another by refraining from behaviour that causes problems for one another,” added Small.

Millar responded by saying that he’d been told by a couple of his players that the Carrick players in question were available as their contracts had ended and all he was doing was letting them know that he was interested in signing them should they decide their future may lie elsewhere.

"If contracts are coming to an end at Inver Park I speak to the players I want to keep weeks or even months before the end of the season and I would have thought other managers do the same,” said Millar, who claims that Donegal Celtic and Harland and Wolff Welders had also been making approaches to striker Bloomer.

"I was confident of signing local lad Peter Steele from Glentoran, who had made him available, but then he played for them in the George Wilson Cup Final and scored the winner and they’ve now offered him a new contract,” added the Inver Park boss.