Darren Murphy insists he’s ‘happy’ at Finn Harps despite ‘difficult task’

Finn Harps manager Darren Murphy has straight-batted questions over a possible approach by Loughgall about the managerial vacancy at the Irish League Premiership strugglers.

Loughgall chiefs are understood to be lining up an approach to Murphy in the wake of the recent departure of Dean Smith.

David Johnstone is in caretaker charge of Loughgall, who are at the bottom of the table and winless since November.

Asked on Friday night, after Harps’ loss to Cobh Ramblers in Ballybofey, if he wanted to address the speculation, Murphy said: “I don’t feel the need to because nothing has been done from anywhere.

“I live 1.5 miles from the ground. When the Glenavon job came up, people thought I would be linked to it because I played there for six or seven years. That’s football. It happens. Until something is concrete, I don’t see the point in talking about something that is not there to talk about.”

In late 2024, Murphy signed a new three-year contract at Harps.

Murphy took over as the Harps manager in 2023, initially on a caretaker basis following the departure of Dave Rogers, who he had been assistant manager to.

He said:  “I am happy here. I know it’s a difficult task. I don’t think there would be too many people who would swap places with me, if truth be told. 

“We are in an extremely difficult position financially, as in where we used to be and I find that difficult because people always look back. We can’t keep looking back. That’s the frustrating thing for me because it’s always about looking back ‘when we were there’ or ‘when we had this player’. 

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“There is a reality in where we are, where we want to be and where you think you are. I, and the people I work with, are the only people who know where exactly we are. People have to realise that we aren’t the team that came out of the Premier three or four seasons ago. 

“We don’t have that team and we don’t have that financial budget. We are one of three teams out of 20 that is still fan-owned. I’ll be here until such times as the committee, the supporters or the players - they are the people who employ me - say to me ‘Murph, it’s time to go’. The only other option is if I feel myself it’s time to go.”