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Football

‘You could be down for years’, Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan warns after relegation

written by Chris McNulty October 25, 2017
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Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan was non-committal on his future this week following the club’s relegation from the Premier Division.

Harps’ fate was confirmed with Sligo Rovers’ win over Derry City on Saturday night, ending their two-season spell in the top flight.

Horgan, appointed Harps manager in the winter of 2013 to succeed Peter Hutton, has been Harps manager for the last four seasons.

“We need to sit down and see what direction the Board want to go and what way the club will look to get back into the Premier Division,” he told Off The Ball on Newstalk this week.

“Had we stayed up, we could have stayed up for years. When you go down, you could be down for years.

“You look at the seasons UCD and Cobh had and they didn’t get a play-off. It’s a hugely difficult division.”

Harps looked odds-on to survive after a 2-0 win at Limerick in early September, but they haven’t won since and lost 3-2 to the also-already-relegated Drogheda United on Monday at Finn Park.

Horgan, though, did hint that he might be ready to give it another go when he said: “It’s not the end of the world.  It was a challenge that we fell short of. We gave it all we had. There’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Harps have lost five on the spin and finish their season on Friday night when they take on Bohemians at Dalymount Park.

Horgan said: “We stayed with the chasing pack for a long length of time. The teams around us strengthened heavily in the window. They strengthened wisely and kicked on.

“We found it difficult to bridge the gap and that gap got bigger. We fell short and it ran until the games ran out.

“We were in a similar situation last year. We lost eight in a row and we scraped a draw at Sligo. We needed something like that to turn us, but it didn’t happen this season.

“Ultimately, the table doesn’t lie. We fought and we were in the mix, but the teams around us got better and we didn’t. Ultimately we weren’t good enough to stay in this Division.”

‘You could be down for years’, Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan warns after relegation was last modified: October 25th, 2017 by Chris McNulty
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finn harpsLeague of IrelandOllie Horgan
Chris McNulty

Author of 'Boxing In Donegal: A History (2021)' - the definitive history of the sport in County Donegal - and 'Relentless: A Race Through Time', the 2019 memoir of former Irish Athletics Team Manager Patsy McGonagle. From St Johnston and now based in Letterkenny, Chris was a nominee for NUJ Sports Journalist of the Year in 2010. Honoured by the Donegal Boxing Board in 2016 for his coverage on the sport.

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