McGowan resigns from Harps

CONTROVERSIAL former manager Patsy McGowan has resigned from the Board of Directors of Finn Harps Football Club.

The outspoken McGowan, who managed Harps for three separate spells, cited his disillusionment with the club as the reason for his departure.

McGowan said that he felt like he was 'being treated as a black sheep by certain sections within the club' and he claimed that other Board members saw him as a 'threat.'

Players at the struggling Donegal Club agreed to defer their wages following the late postponement of their game against Drogheda United and on Saturday McGowan went on local radio to explain the situation.

"On Tuesday morning I got a call from the chairman to say that other directors had been on to me saying that I shouldn't have said what I did on the radio. I played the recording back to him and he admitted that I had said nothing wrong," he commented.

"That was the final straw and I then decided to give in my resignation at the meeting on Tuesday night.

"I came in at the start of last season to help Paul Hegarty. I helped raise €45,000 this year but I felt that everything I did made no difference.

"In all honesty I've tried my best for Finn Harps since I was a teenager. I've spent most of my life for the club but I've decided that I'm not going to die or them."

McGowan stepped down at a heated meeting of the Board of Directors on Tuesday night.

At the same meeting, an incident occurred that led to a Board member receiving medical attention at Letterkenny General Hospital and the Gardai were subsequently called in to investigate.

"There was an incident on Tuesday night, but the matter is being investigated and we can't say anything on it for a number of reasons," a club spokesperson confirmed.