Ollie Horgan: "We normally lose four or five ... this year we’ve had to replace 11 players"

Tue, 15 Feb, 2022 - 12:19

John Fallon

The League of Ireland hasn’t been spared the national inflation surge, forcing Ollie Horgan to be even more innovative in furrowing for another escape act at Finn Harps.

In situ since late 2013, the Galwegian is the longest-serving boss across the 19 clubs and given their historical reputation as yo-yo champions, that Friday’s season kick-off will be Harps’ sixth time in the last seven years to operate in the Premier Division underscores his achievements.

This, though, will be his most epic challenge.

Of course, the gold medallist of tempering expectation would say that but the annual overhaul has been steeper and the First Division champions he’s traditionally had to outwit for survival didn’t have the resources of Shelbourne and Damien Duff.

Losing his assistant loyal Paul Hegarty was another blow but just like replacing him with another league legend in Gavin Dykes, plugging the holes in his squad left by those seeking higher wages and less arduous journeys has become second nature to the school-teacher.

“We normally lose four or five and replace them but this year we’ve had to replace 11 players,” Horgan said about the off-season rebuild.

“We tend to take in lads that have lost their way to give them their opportunity and that’s maybe why we’ve now lost them. "No player asked to leave, we wanted them all to stay. It’s not like we felt that we could get better. We were happy with the 11 but they got better offers, either home or abroad.”

The facts prove it’s no sob story. New Reds boss Duff snared three of the team that dodged the relegation play-off by finishing eighth - Mark Coyle, Sean Boyd and Daniel Hawkins. Well-heeled neighbours Derry swooped for Shane McEleney while Tunde Owolabi and Adam Foley – who between them grabbed 18 of the team’s 44 league goals – were lured to St Patrick’s Athletic and Drogheda United respectively.

Karl O’Sullivan didn’t have to go for a better offer from Sligo Rovers and there was the foreign route for Jordan Mustoe (Belgium) and Will Seymore (USA) and Kosovar Sadiki (Italy).

The nucleus Horgan had to start from were goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley, captain Dave Webster along with Ethan Boyle, Barry McNamee and Ryan Connolly. U19 graduates Nathan Logue and Luke Rudden will be entrusted with more responsibility this year.

The same could be said about his latest batch of imports. Numerous trips abroad, when restrictions allowed, unearthed several targets, some of whom he landed. Others he’s recruited on instinct.

They include Croatian forward Filip Mihaljević, Dutch-born Turkish defender Erol Erdal Alkan as well as Spanish defender José Carrillo. Madagascar midfielder Bastien Héry completes the exotic mix, though he’s played in Ireland, south and north, for the past five seasons.

“We’ve had to go further afield because we couldn’t get value for money within the country, in our eyes,” Horgan explains.

“It’s gone beyond €100 of weekly wages making the difference now. There seems to be money back in the league and fair play to the clubs that are able to do that.

“How do we get our players from outside the country? A lot of phone calls, travel and a couple of good people out there that help you out for the good of the player, as opposed to financial gain for themselves.

“Some matches I travel to are showcases, where it’s only out of contract players assembled. You basically have a choice but, funny enough, it’s not as simple when you offer the contracts.

“There are risks involved. They’re good lads but it’s whether they can adapt to the country, climate and most importantly the league. It's a gamble because we’ve no choice. I’m not moaning. That’s the long and short of it.”