McHugh rues poor season for Harps

It’s been a strange old season at Finn Park.

From a budding start to the league campaign; to taking Derry City to penalties in the EA Sports Cup; to the mid-season decline; to the sucker punch five minutes from time against Drogheda United in the FAI Cup quarter final; to beating the champions-elect in the last home game of the season on Friday night, it is safe to say that Harps have been nothing short of inconsistent this season.

A disappointing campaign saw manager Peter Hutton vacate his position on Friday past, and this compounded the misery that the club has been staring at since the halfway point of the league.

Club legend Kevin McHugh has been through it all before. But as he ages gracefully in the blue of the Harps, McHugh will recall this year as the most disappointing of all, but insists that he will stay on for another season.

Speaking to ExtraTime.ie, he said: “This was probably the worst season I’ve experienced.

“Once we were out of contention for a playoff spot, the league simply didn't have the same edge about it and that showed in our results. It’s as simple as that - it turned out to be a poor season.”

Having seen his former team-mate Hutton leave the club on Friday, McHugh acknowledges that the blame can’t solely sit with the former Derry City man.

“It’s very hard to put your finger on one thing that went wrong, but as a group of players, we have to take full responsibility.

“Our squad was good enough to compete at the top end of the table, and we failed to do that. For all the effort that we’ve been putting in since December last year, it’s been very disappointing. As captain, I’d like to apologise to our loyal fans, but I hope they can keep the faith for next season.”

Having come five minutes away from reaching the FAI Cup semi-final only a few weeks ago, there is still a sense of hurt at Finn Park, none more so than with McHugh. And having been eliminated in the replay with Drogheda United, McHugh admits that from then, the hunger had gone.

“We were absolutely gutted to be honest and in truth, we are still hungover from that disappointment.

“The cup was the only thing that mattered at that stage and that left the squad really devastated. Perhaps from then, the fringe players and U19's should have been blooded in, as to finish 5th, 6th or 7th is immaterial to how next season will start in 2014.

“The reality is that we could be sitting here chatting about a fantastic opportunity to get to the Aviva on Sunday, but that’s football. There is definitely more lows than highs.”

Despite the disappointment on the field for the club’s senior side, McHugh is still a great ambassador for the club, praising the work that has gone on behind the scenes this season.

He said: “Just to set a few things straight, Finn Harps as a club have done a fantastic job to keep senior football alive in Donegal. There are lots of difficulties facing the club. In the background, things such as paying debts from previous boards - we didn’t fold like many clubs or have debts written off by revenue resulting in leaving many local businesses out of pocket.

“At the same time, a budget had to be put together to run a first team, a reserve team, an U19’s team, U17’s and a youth structure from U10’s. So for whatever isn’t being shown at senior level, there is still a lot of positivity around the club.”

With Harps having to compete with Derry City and Sligo Rovers to sign the best players in the North West, McHugh acknowledges that often it is hard to compete. However, with Donegal being a hotbed for talent at junior level, McHugh is insistent that players should have a desire to compete at Airtricity League level.

 “I came straight from a Killea side, that were bottom of the Inishowen League to Harps first team in the Premier Division in 1998 and never looked out of place, but I had a real desire to make it as a footballer.

“We need to attract the best players in Donegal to our club. It doesn't matter if you play in the Inishowen League, Donegal League or Ulster Senior League; if you have talent and the right attitude you can go places.

“There are plenty players like that in the county, but we need to identify these players and offer them a chance to prove themselves. We have enough ex-players about the county who would only be too happy to go and watch games for the club - guys like Shane Bradley, Declan Boyle and Paddy McGrenaghan. Hopefully this is something the club can look into, because we can be a platform for these kind of players.”

Having continued to reach double digits in goals for Harps once again this season, McHugh’s attitude has obviously played a part in his rise to stardom at the Ballybofey club. However, for every one Kevin McHugh, there is another 20 that fail to make the grade because of a lack of discipline, and he acknowledges that there should be no tolerance to that at the club.

“Being from Donegal and in my twelfth year with club, I really, really hate to see good young players with potential leave the club. Players are not happy if they’re not playing, simple as that.

“And to be fair to some of the lads who left recently, they are definitely good enough to play at this level and have simply left to play football, so hopefully they will return for pre-season training in 2014.

“As for the other players that left earlier in the year, their attitude was all wrong and brought very little to the dressing room.  I think there is a few more that will follow them out the door in the off-season. Attitude is everything, and you need to take advantage of every game and training session when you’re handed a contract.

 “We definitely need a few more experienced players in the dressing room, although the spine of our team is as good as any other team in the division. There are players too that will go into pre-season feeling a lot better about themselves. Players will leave, I have no doubt. But the key is to attract the right kind of players to replace them, with quality over quantity being the main thing for me.”

As this season will be written off as another for the back burner, McHugh sees next season as a chance for the club to wipe their slate clean, and has urged supporters and football-people in general to attend the upcoming AGM.

“Finn Harps are a big club, and Donegal’s only hope of keeping a proper stage on the national front.  For the better players to step up and improve, soccer people need to recognise this, as it’s not just a Ballybofey club - it’s a county wide entity and it's serving the whole county for the good of soccer.

“I will definitely be going to this year’s AGM, and I will be encouraging past and current players to attend, and as many soccer fans to attend.

“There is so much we can do to make Finn Harps a thriving club again and one to be proud of. Hopefully we can build on what’s here from next year onwards.”