Kevin McHugh embraces League’s ‘toughest job’ as he plots Finn Harps rise

Finn Harps manager Kevin McHugh feels as if he has the toughest job in the League of Ireland - but he’s not complaining.

The Killea man, who scored 186 goals in 438 games for Harps, took the hot seat at Finn Park last April.

The role has been challenging since he took over following the departure of Darren Murphy, but McHugh is relishing his first full season at the helm.

“I like a challenge,” the 46-year-old says. “We know it’s not going to be easy,. but I think everybody at the club is raring to go.”

“I would say if you're an outsider coming in, I would say you'd be like ‘bloody hell!’.

“The majority of the clubs are in the south-east, south-west direction so there is going to be a lot of travelling.

“The boys are well schooled. I'm obviously well schooled having played in it. I've been involved in the first team in the last few years. I'm well schooled and I know what's coming up.

“When you have three games a week and you're down, maybe a few suspensions or a few injuries, they're tough times - but again, it's a challenge. I would like that as a player.”

In recent weeks, Harps have reissued an appeal for accomodation to house players in the Twin Towns area.

Although not directly involved in such matters, it’s still something that McHugh has to keep an eye on.

“So all those things don't help, but these are things that are outside our control,” McHugh says. “We just say, hey, to be fair, we have the people involved in this club and the people that I want at this club, so we just get on with things.”

Since suffering relegation from the Premier Division in 2022, in what was Ollie Horgan’s last season in charge at Finn Park, Harps have finished ninth, sixth and eighth in the last three First Division campaigns.

McHugh - who had been on the backroom team beforehand - succeeded Murphy as Harps boss last April and his side were eighth at season’s end, 12 points off Treaty United in the final play-off spot.

McHugh is quick to point to 12 draws as an obvious area where Harps can improve on.

“That is just too many in one season,” McHugh said. “If we turn three or four of those into wins, we’d be way better off and we may have made the play-offs. Those are the lind of things that we are looking at.

“The kind of attitude and mentality we've had in a game, even if it's the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game and you may be under the cost, but we’re going to throw everything at it to try and win the game, rather than just settling for a draw. 

“They're the kind of things that the group are buying into at the moment.”

McHugh deliberately brought Harps back to pre-season training earlier than they had become accustomed to.

“The gaps are there,” McHugh says. “You have to do everything in your power and within your means to close the gaps.

“We want to target every game. We want to go in and win the game. It's as simple as that. That's as far ahead as we're up in every game.”

While Harps are hopeful of appointing a new Head of Academy soon, McHugh is still double-jobbing.

The process of appointments country-wide is being overseen by Sport Ireland and McHugh confirmed: “It could be another month before we get somebody appointed.”

His squad has seen some turnover, though perhaps not to the same level as would have been the case in most recent winters.

The loss of Hans Mpongo - who looked like a goalscorer of some prowess in the latter part of last season - to fellow First Division side Cork City was a major blow, while Harps also lost the likes of Gavin Gilmore, Gradi Lomboto, Daniel Cunningham, Mikey Place and Gavin Hodgins.

McHugh has been fairly busy in the transfer market with Daniel De Lacerda, Bernardo Monteiro, Temiloluwa Ajibola, Perrault Tokam and Nathan Lumingo brought on board.

Read next: Young Donegal amateurs get chance to shine at Fight Night at the Valley

McHugh says: “We generally at the Football Club only want players that want to be here, if that makes sense. They're very positive on everything about the club, which is hugely important to us as a staff as well.

“The players engage and have a huge interest in the club. It's not easy, because there's a small pool of players out there at times.

“Every club and every team in this league, including the Premier Division, they've all strengthened. Everybody's got investment. Everybody's improving. The standards of the league have come up. The Premier Division has gone on another level.

It's the way it is. It's a different landscape to where it was maybe 10 years ago. It's brilliant, but we need to keep up as well.”