New-look Finn Harps step into the great unknown

Although he can play the jovial type, manager Ollie Horgan wasn’t smiling during the winter months as, one by one, texts and calls filtered through of his squad members leaving.

The news chipped away at the fabric of the club until it got to the point where he might’ve even considered his own position.
Seen by some as an unexpected candidate, never mind appointment, back in 2013, Horgan, if nothing else, is resilient.

And following some late nights refuelling at the various service stations around the country, a phone bill that’s presumably as long as your arm, and more refusals than a covid wedding, Horgan’s Finn Harps are back in action this Friday.

Another season looms and for Harps, it’s their sixth from the last seven in the top flight. It’s a remarkable statistic when you consider that from 2001 until his appointment, Harps were in the lower tier in all but two campaigns - the dismal seasons of 2005 and 2008. Harps were also a First Division club for 11 straight years from 1985 onwards.

Drogheda United weren’t the best side in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division last season, but they were the only side Harps didn’t manage to get the better of.

All in all though, Harps accumulated an impressive 44 points and as an indicator of how cutthroat this league is, it was still only enough for survival in eighth place of the 10 teams competing.

Nevertheless, the supporters were voting with their feet, with some of the best nights at old Finn Park in years and a fantastic support as well.

“We inherited a lot of new supporters,” Horgan says. “They were a huge help to us and the new generation backed up the circle of loyal support we always had. The support definitely makes a difference at Finn Park.”

Staying above the waterline will always be the fundamental ambition for Harps with their financial constraints. Anyone who doubts that can merely look at those who stepped through the departure lounge, with three players for example moving to newly-promoted Shelbourne.

And even though his background as a maths and science teacher means a fondness for numbers, Horgan isn’t putting a figure on what might be needed in 2022. “How could you?,” he states, pointing to last year’s league table.

Nor is Horgan staring at his watch, asking for time. Most reasonably-minded folk would agree that things won’t gel instantly with so many new faces, although Harps need to keep in touch. After Friday, there’s back to back aways the following weekend at UCD and Dundalk.

Drogheda grounded Harps on all four occasions last season. With flirtatious and fairly overly-optimistic notions in early season over Harps qualifying for Europe, they were held 1-1 on their first visit to Louth and soundly beaten 3-1 on their second.

At Finn Park, Dane Massey scored a rasping 95th minute winner past an inspired Mark Anthony McGinley in May from a dead ball with the last kick of the game. For Harps it was an unfortunate way to lose the game but they weren’t unfortunate to lose the game. And in the final clash, Tom Clancy’s side came for a draw and got it.

Kevin Doherty is in charge now and in pre-season, Drogheda have been as impressive as you can in pre-season, with notable wins over Shelbourne and last Friday night with Horgan watching, 2-1 at Dundalk.

“Drogheda are never easy and they showed that last season when they came up, with a host of experienced players like Dane Massey, Keith Cowan, Gary Deegan, Chris Lyons and Darragh Markey,” Horgan adds. “They’re strong down the middle and for us, it’s a matter of working out where we are.

“The league is savage. We’ve got a squad together and we’ll soon see where we’re at. Some of the lads who stayed, I appreciate their loyalty and we’ve got players here who want to be part of it. We’ll have to live and learn. Am I looking forward to it? Well, I’ll say I’m looking forward to it more than I might’ve been a couple of months ago.”