THE future of Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan - the longest serving manager in the SSE Airtricity League - is in doubt following the Donegal’s club relegation from the Premier Division.
Their 3-1 defeat by UCD in their final home league game on Friday night means that the Ballybofey club’s four-season stay in the top flight is over.
They still have one game to play - away to Drogheda United next Sunday - but they are now six points adrift of UCD and will finish bottom.
Harps have won just four times in 35 league outings.
Asked about his own position after the UCD loss - which enabled the Students to grab the promotion/relegation play-off berth - Horgan was giving little away and said it was all very raw, and there would be “a fair bit of thinking.”
“Over the course of the season, results don’t lie. We probably had several opportunities to get away from the bottom but we did not,” he said.
“We have nobody to blame but ourselves. Well done to UCD, We played them four times and were unable to beat them. They beat us three times out of four.”
He added: “The club was here years before me and will be for years after me. I walked away last year but people who I admire on the board asked me to stay and put a team together to try and stay in the division.”
The loss of a dozen players and the injury to club captain Dave Webster, which saw him missing the bulk of the season , did not help Harps’ cause.
Horgan subsequently assembled a 'United Nations' type squad with players from the likes of France, Croatia, Madagascar, the United States, Spain and Jordan on a very tight budget.
He said that for the club, players and staff being relegated after all their efforts was something that was hard to take.
“The fans really got behind us this season. There was a lot of pride. There was a connection there. They are hurting and I am hurting trying to put a brave face on it.
“We are as tough as nails. We have had days like this before and been relegated. We have had brilliant days before. We have won modestly and we lose graciously.”
Harps went into their penultimate league game knowing that defeat would send them down, but a draw or win would keep their hopes alive to the final game.
And when Harps took the lead through a 29th minute header from Conor Tourish, the bulk of the fans in an attendance of 2,011 sensed that the great escape was still on.
But straight from the kick-off UCD equalised with Mark Dignam letting fly with a thundering long range shot.
The game then really exploded into life, but UCD always looked the more threatening in attack. Tommy Longeran broke through the Harps defence to plant the ball past James McKeown in the 72nd minute to make it 2-1.
And five minutes later UCD were awarded a penalty for handball against Tourish which was duly dispatched into the net from the spot by Lonergan.
