‘Our day will come’: World Cup highlight fuels McHugh’s confidence at Finn Harps

Finn Harps manager Kevin McHugh says that a trio of players from the club going to the FIFA U17 World Cup was the undoubted highlight for the club this year.

The World Cup was held in Qatar in November with Harps players Gavin McAteer, Josh Cullen and Corey Sheridan a part of the Republic of Ireland squad.

McAteer, in particular, has courted plenty of attention with Nottingham Forest and Celtic previously having shown firm interest in the Milford teenager.

Harps had a greater representation than any other club on the Irish U17 squad, who existed after a 3-1 loss to Switzerland in the round of 32.

“The highlight for us as a football club in 2025 was obviously the three boys getting selected for the World Cup,” McHugh told the AGM of the Finn Harps Co-Operative Society on Sunday night.

McAteer and Cullen played 62 minutes of Ireland’s last group game, a 0-0 draw with Paraguay with McAteer also having played the last 12 minutes of the opening game, a 4-1 win against Panama.

“We would like to have seen the boys get more minutes out there, but it’s such a high standard.,” McHugh said”.The fact they were there and got mins was an unbelievable moment for the football club. Those are the wee wins along the way. We’re in a decent place. We have loads more to do in that department.”

McHugh was appointed as the successor to Darren Murphy, who left Harps in March to take over his native Loughgall.

The Killea native was the Head of Academy and an assistant to Murphy. He continued to double-job as Head of Academy following his appointment as the first team manager.

A new Head of Academy is to be appointed in 2026 with the announcement of a successor first needing approval in the shape of FAI funding before being confirmed.  

McHugh said: “I was covering the Head of Academy role as well and will do that into January. When you’re handing something over, it has to be consistent and should be easy for the person coming in. We’re trying to put that in place and I will be there as a sounding board. There will be someone appointed.”

Harps finished eighth in 2025, 12 points off the play-off spots and McHugh makes no bones that he wants his side to feature in more loftier positions next season.

He said: “Within the first team, we have so many boxes to tick. We want to be more competitive on the pitch next year. Absolutely no doubt about it. 

“I’m sure the younger players coming through now for a second pre-season will be better for all of that. We have more players coming through again, more academy graduates from the U15s, U17s and U20s who look comfortable at this level.

“We are gaining attention from clubs in the UK. We are doing things right and doing things for the long-term benefit of the club. We have to be sustainable.

"The days of just throwing money at players and maybe they leave, there is no future in that. At some stage you have to put the brakes on and ask what the long-term objectives are. We are on the way and you can see bits and pieces coming to fruition.”

While the loss of Hans Mpongo - who made a stirring impact following his mid-season arrival to Finn Park - will have come as a blow, McHugh insists that brighter days don’t have to be a distant dream. 

He has already been running the rule over around a dozen trialists.

“We are in a good place, but way more to do. I think that we can get to a great place,” McHugh said, noting that he wants to develop a high-performance culture in the club.

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“The understanding from fans and where we are, that doesn’t happen at the majority of the clubs. The players feel that support and it drives them. Hopefully we can repay the fans with more wins. 

“There is huge talent coming through our ranks and it is exciting. Our day will come, no doubt about it.”