No quick fix for Harps' current woes but a corner can still be turned - Boyle

Declan Boyle has warned the Finn Harps faithful that the club’s brave new approach to how they go about their business on Navenny Street is going to take time to find genuine traction.

And because of that the Killybegs man says all parties deserve time and patience as Dave Rogers’ new-look and inexperienced side attempts to acclimate to the demands of League of Ireland football.

It might well be the second tier but Boyle - who made 370 appearances across three different spells at Harps - explains that the First Division is a difficult landing spot for youngsters.

Harps currently sit second from bottom having slumped to their fourth straight loss last Friday night when Waterford dished out a 4-0 drubbing to their hosts in Ballybofey. They go away to sixth placed Treaty United on Friday night in desperate need to stem that tide.

Boyle says when looking at the side’s form to date, where they’ve taken just three wins from 15 outings, you have to factor in just how light and inexperienced the squad is right now.

But, he explains, if Rogers can add some seasoned acquisitions around the edges to all of that, results could change quite quickly. However Boyle warns that is much easier said than done when it comes to recruitment in the lower realms of the second tier.

“Supporters will always have high expectations at the start of any season,” said Boyle. “The hope always is to see the team do well. But if you look at the thing subjectively, it was always going to be hard to hit the ground running for Harps this year, and for a number of reasons.

“When you bring in so many players and you try to knit that all together, that takes time. With an experienced group of players that takes time so with what Harps are attempting to do with so many youngsters, it’s that much more difficult.

“Looking at the other side of that - the one perhaps some might not appreciate - is that you’re dealing with a group of young and enthusiastic lads looking to learn their trade at this level.

“And they are having to learn on their feet. We do have some experience in certain areas of the pitch but not enough at this minute to really help those guys. That’s not anyone’s fault. Dave Rogers and his staff are only in the door as well and they haven’t had much time to build.

“So Harps are in that settling in period and that was always going to take time. It’ll be very interesting now to see how the July transfer window goes and will Dave be given the funds needed to go get those type of experienced players we just referenced”.

He added: “If he can get three or four of those kinda lads, in those core areas of the pitch, it will bring everyone on. The type of player that talks others through the game, that would make a huge difference to this team”.

Following the weekend’s tanking by Waterford, the danger might well be that attendances now begin to dwindle along the terraces in Ballybofey. Boyle says if supporters can see a certain level of effort and endeavour, then they’ll stick it out. But, he admits, a big improvement is needed right now.

“When supporters can see that from the sidelines then they’ll go ‘yeah, they’re giving it a lash’. Regardless of results, that counts for a hell of a lot. And I have no doubt the Harps fans will stick it out if they’re getting that.

“There are going to be bumps along the road with this - and there are going to be plenty of mistakes. But what you’re looking for are good, positive home performances that continue to coax people out the door and through the turnstiles.

“Away from home in this league is a completely different thing to what you get at home. So Harps need to target that for obvious reasons”.

In terms of the type of player Rogers needs to get through the door, Boyle says they need to have the kind of experience and quality that makes a real difference.

With the USL coming to a close, many of the top names there would no doubt fit the bill. But again, Boyle says that’s not a straightforward solution.

“If they can add some steel into that young mix then things could quickly improve and they could then really begin to move up that table. And there are names out there that would make an instant difference.

“But listen, everyone decides at different times when they’ve maybe given enough at that level. Good players left last year that I’ve no doubt had they given another season would have been a huge help in this sort of transitional period.

“But it’s so difficult. Lads are at a certain stage in life and they have so much going on outside of that bubble. The First Division is a gauntlet in terms of travel. It’s a massive, massive commitment. Yeah, there is a financial reward, a few pound involved.

“But when you divide that up into the actual amount of hours you’re away from home, it’s not a hell of a lot. And it’s called the League of Ireland but the First Division actually more resembles a sort of a Munster and Leinster League.

“It’s always been an issue for Harps but the geography attached to all of that becomes even less glamorous in the second tier.

“And I’ve no doubt that is the reason some of those more experienced lads did step away last season and I’ve no doubt it’s also playing a part in terms of recruitment this time out”.

In regards to the direction the club, its directors and its manager are now trying to veer Harps in, Boyle says it’s a reset that, in the long run, will bring stability.

“It’s great to see Dave and the club giving out two-year contracts. That represents stability. There was a phase there where every year it was just a conveyor belt going out and a conveyor belt coming in. In that kinda situation, it’s so hard to find emotional traction or that kinda team camaraderie.

“Something had to give. We needed to press that reset - get that continuity with local lads being promoted. You can still have that model where players are coming in but where it’s operating side by side with a pathway that allows local lads to play for the jersey they grew up wanting to wear.

“And looking down the line, that all bodes so well for the start of next pre-season. These lads will feel established, they’ll know the league and the supporters will have that attachment to them.

“And the management will also have had the time to bring in that wee bit of experience that will give the entire thing that direction needed to then hopefully look to challenge and progress to that next level”.