Rarely has Premier Division survival seemed more imperative for Finn Harps.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY, DONEGAL SPORT HUB
Three teams will be relegated from the top flight this year as the League of Ireland moves to a ten-team Premier for the 2018 season.
When the League of Ireland split into two back in 1985, Harps had to wait until 1996 to play in the Premier Division.
They dropped back in 2001 and were relegated at the first time of asking following their promotions again in 2004 and 2007.
Having survived the drop last year – an achievement that Ollie Horgan has stated consistently was better than actually winning promotion in 2015 – Harps face into another testing, trying campaign with the odds stacked against them.
“The thing we don’t want is to drift away early,” Horgan said today at a press briefing in the Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny.
“If we can stay in it, stay competitive with three teams above us and be in with a shot, we’d view that as a success.
“People make predictions about who’ll go down. it seems to be just a question of who’ll go down with us.”
But Horgan has vowed that his team will fight tooth and nail for their survival.
“The squad has potential. It’s a matter of getting that potential out of them and getting things to gel. The League has improved this year.
“You’re looking at who we’ll finish above. We’ll be down at the bottom fighting, but we’ll keep fighting.”
Harps have seen work stall on their new stadium in Stranorlar, though it was noted today that the club’s stadium committee had met this week in Dublin.
Harps have received a derogation from the FAI to play at Finn Park, despite the venue falling well below the required 1,500 seats.
There are fears that the ground could be turned down at some stage in the near future – given that it is being left behind badly by Father Time – but Harps secretary John Campbell said: “Derogations are given on a yearly basis. We got a derogation and that is all in place now. Our licensing did a great job, but the derogation only runs until the end of the season.
“The stadium committee held a meeting this week in Dublin. It is still very much a work in progress. It is a distraction for us because, even if we were to start working on it tomorrow, it wouldn’t be ready until well into the 2018 season.”
Campbell again stressed the club’s outrage at how the voting procedure for the format change came about. His feelings were clear as he spoke from the top table.
“We vehemently opposed it, but a majority decided it.
“That creates its own set of problems. It isn’t just this season. As we are here today there are on-going talks about the structures for the League for 2018.
“We were consulted at the start. The Premier Club Alliance called a meeting and a vote was taken. It was a tied vote, but two clubs were absent.
“Then, it was another tied vote, six-all. Subsequent to that, we were informed that there was a request that a clear indication be given to the FAI and two clubs changed their vote.
“After that, the announcement was made that the Premier Division was being moved to ten clubs. We made our views known, but it’s happening…”
The League of Ireland’s latest rearranging of the deckchairs means a that many clubs in the top flight are really scrambling to avoid fall overboard and some in the First Division – where only one team will win promotion – are in a desperate bid to get a place at the ten-team ball for 2018.
Horgan denied today that the capture of Paddy McCourt, a former Celtic player and a Northern Ireland international, was in response to the change in format.
Horgan has done some very astute pieces of business over the winter.
Killian Cantwell fills an obvious void left by the injured Keith Cowan; Danny Morrissey and Ciaran O’Connor come highly-rated from Cork and Dundalk with obvious standing; hopes are high that Caolan McAleer will add considerably, too; and Jonny Bonner’s talents were already known in Ballybofey.
The reversal of Barry Molloy’s retirement decision and the retention of key men like Ciaran Gallagher, Ciaran Coll, Damien McNulty and Sean Houston are all valuable, but there is no doubt that McCourt is the stellar name now.
Overall, Horgan has a decent squad at his disposal and one that certainly, on paper at least, appears capable of scraping together enough points to avoid the quicksands.
There is no doubt this week who the spotlights will turn to as McCourt’s signing has created a buzz and drawn an attention to Harps that hasn’t been seen before.
It is no exaggeration to say that his capture – highly influenced by Horgan’s assistant, Paul Hegarty – is the biggest signing that Harps have EVER made.
McCourt is expected to make his debut against Cork City on Friday night and there will be some – even if Roy Keane is appearing at a fundraiser in Letterkenny at unfortunately the same time as the game in Ballybofey – who will venture down Navenny Street with the sole purpose of seeing a man once dubbed ‘The Derry Pele’.
Gordon Strachan took McCourt to Celtic and said just two years ago: “Paddy is as gifted a footballer as I have ever seen.
“Some players can see a pass, but not dribble. Others can dribble, but not see a pass. Paddy can do both. And, I have got to say, watching Paddy is one of the best things in football.”
Harps have a modest budget, believed to be around €4,000 per week – a figure that is dwarfed by the rather more lavish spending of their rivals – and some have questioned whether signing like McCourt is really worthwhile.
He may seem like a luxury asset at times but if Harps can draw out some of that old stardust then it could prove a magical addition.
It is possibly true, as some observers have pointed out, that Harps cannot afford to gamble.
But, with so much at stake this season, more so than in previous campaigns, they couldn’t afford not to roll the dice.
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