Finn Harps Manager Darren Murphy has hit out at the gruelling schedule of away fixtures his team has been handed as their Playoff push continues.
They are just four points behind Bray Wanderers, who currently occupy the final Playoff spot in the League of Ireland First Division.
However Harps will face further fixture congestion chaos, as their game against Wexford originally planned for tomorrow night has now been moved to Monday the 14th – due to Wexford making it to the FAI Cup semi-final.
And as Darren Murphy told club media after their matchup against Kerry earlier this week, the game being pushed back now makes their game against Bray all the more crucial – as they will have a game in hand.
“We don’t have a game (this) weekend because Wexford have done so well in the cup, so we could go into Friday the 11th of October 7 points behind Bray – and that makes going to Bray a must win.”
“We’re still there with three games to go which is a remarkable achievement considering some of the obstacles and hurdles this group has had to face this year, so I’m certaintly not going to stand here and be too critical of (our players) – some might want me to be, I’m not because I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
Murphy took the opportunity to take aim at the schedule-makers, which have had Harps play five away games in the last month, before another trip south to play Bray on the 11th,
“Once we finish at Bray, we’ll have travelled over 11,000 kilometres – with no overnight stays. It’s a lot of travelling for a team.”
“When you look at the bottom end of the table, some teams have only travelled 3,500 kilometres – we did that in six weeks when we travelled away five games out of six.”
“We’ve worked extremely hard and the players have worked extremely hard, they’ve picked up 11 points from 15 to keep their playoff chances alive so, here, it’s been doom and gloom for most of the year, by a lot of people, I’m certainly not gonna stand here and make it doom and gloom, there’s still a chance, we’re still fighting, and that bunch of players have faught every game.”
He also insisted that it’s a “no more Mr Nice Guy” approach from here on out, citing an apparent lack of help from other LOI clubs and the FAI.
“Us as a football club have done a great deal to help a lot of people in this league, a great deal, and when our turn came around to get a wee bit of help, we didn’t get it from certain people, (they) know who I’m talking about.”
“I’m not gonna name names in case it gets me in trouble, but (they) know who I’m talking about, and I’ve certainly helped a lot of people out this year. I’ve learned a very, very valuable lesson, and I’m quite comfortable to say it… I’m not helping anyone anymore.”
