 Time now to talk League of Ireland, Premier Division Soccer and joining us once again is our regular co-com of course on the Harps Games, that's former Harps captain, Mr Declan Boyle. Declan, good to see you again. Thanks Ashin, yeah good to see you. I suppose the big talking point as we speak now this Thursday afternoon is the comments made by Ollie Horgan exclusively in Highlands earlier today where he has once again questioned the disciplinary of the FAA. He's been hit with a three-match ban, five yellow cards and ascending off against Shamrock Rovers but what Ollie has come out about is that there needs to be better engagement with officials and he's head out at the FAA and he has questioned the role of the official now that a manager cannot come and actually question an official about a decision which has been reversed. Is Anirrit, Ollie Horgan in a right position to do that in your mind Declan? Yeah that's it, that's a big other one. Obviously the history that Ollie has with officials going back when we started off on Harps wouldn't be good and always a good working relationship in regards to them off the pitch and it's just for that 95 minutes on the pitch it can be quite volatile and the fourth official gets I suppose he gets a red ears from you know Ollie obviously on his KSW but and it's getting the last days now I suppose where maybe he's right in some sense in regards to that maybe you can't say anything to officials especially the fourth officials because they're acting very quickly and they're throwing out yellow cards very swiftly and that's obviously a problem for Ollie because Ollie it seems to be gets into a lot of trouble with both the fourth officials and the referee but yeah listen it's and maybe that's the case if there is less tolerance that's been handed out to the officials maybe that all he needs to change his attitude and say it very little on the pitch because for me I believe that if you're paying all your attention towards the fourth official referee you're not watching the match. Yeah you were there that night that Rob Hennessy sent off Ollie Horgan and you were there when the decision was made and then they reversed it it has a good case but Declan. Absolutely I mean we were doing live comedy that night Austrian and German and we we actually talked about it on that because on that incident there was a free referee through the free and he pointed towards a Harps free which was pointed towards the channel of overs goals and there was a player who received treatment and after that he changed he changed the direction of the free and give the channel of overs and then from the resultant free kick Mark McGinley came and disappointingly he dropped one and they scored from it Rory Gaffney scored and put it into an empty net and that's and that was the difference and you know and then there's another free afterwards so that that kind of spilled on there's obviously a wee bit of variables between Ollie and the referee and the fourth officials and that kind of started it off and then there's another free given afterwards which was probably a wee bit questionable as well and Ollie got into the year the fourth official and then obviously Rob Hennessy the referee came over and gave him a red card and yeah so I mean that you know one spilled into the other and then obviously accumulated with Shama Gover scoring the goal out of the free kick and you can understand the frustration of that one for sure but there has been moments throughout the season where he's got yellow cards and you know he just needs to be a bit more disciplined and he's gonna have to start doing that otherwise he's going to get more yellow cards and more red cards and that's what you don't want to see you need Ollie on the line he's manager of the club and you know he needs to be setting a good example to the players in the pitch. Yeah that is one side of a deckland and maybe Ollie needs to tone down slightly on on the line but but Ollie's point is here there was absolutely no dialogue or no reasoning from the match official afterwards and given a reason why he went back on his decision that's what Ollie's sticking point is here should there be more dialogue should there be more conversation communication between match officials and managers after games explaining situations like this one there right yeah I think I think Ollie's right on that point for sure um you would like sometimes even after the heated battles on and maybe after you know when everybody settles down and everybody goes and gets changed and have the showers then there may be an opportunity when when people are a bit more calmer to sit down and have that conversation and I think it's important that referees are professional enough to sit down and have a conversation with managers if they're not happy about things and just explain the case and you know just that's all it is because you know as managers you can make mistakes on the line you can say things you don't you don't mean to say anything to battle but also referees can make mistakes as well in the pitch and that needs to be sometimes you know I would love for a referee coming after a word and say sorry I made a mistake and then you go that's okay that's no problem we're all making mistakes and you just carry on from there you know so I do understand the frustration um I think it's probably something that the FBI need to look at and the referee association needs to look at um I do believe that you know for having a good um working relationship with the managers in the league you do need to have that conversation with people um or if it's a matter of ringing up Ollie the next day and explain your case and when things are settled down but I would love to see that that conversation being available for managers just to go and speak um an respectful way to the officials um after maybe after the match is over and maybe everybody when everybody's came down with it yeah and for the officials probably to speak to managers in a respectful way as well Declan right we're going to park that and move it aside Bohemians this last week uh the performance particularly in the first half wasn't good uh from Finn Harpstone dock of the visitors on Friday night to Finn Park the first thing Ollie who won't be on the line tomorrow well it'll be Paul Higger to be in charge but Higgs and Ollie will be looking for the first thing as a better performance at home yeah absolutely um you know after getting a really positive result against Erie then they go up to Dillion Mount and we know it was difficult and both have the players that can't hurt you for sure but they've been through a bad form similar to Dundock but you as you say like those three goals in the first half up in Dillion Mount is disappointing we just didn't defend well collectively and in individual areas as well and that's been the difference so Dundock are the same they're not going quickly well Slago beat them in Oriole Park last week with a 1-0 victory and and even though Slago were down to 10 men for a large portion of the game after Gary Buckley was sent off they didn't really create that much and they have the players that can't hurt you but at the moment they're they're all they're misfiring and they're just not playing to the level they need to play at so it's an interesting game obviously if Harps can you know obviously at home they're at home they need to be starting off very well get up to a good start but you cannot give away silly opportunities and defend as per as you did in Dillion Mount and if you do that Dundock will beat you but you know Harps performance has been good sometimes it's difficult because you know you played Friday you played Stereo there on a Monday and then you went to Dillion Mount and that's difficult for part-time players you know you not much rest so you know they a bit more rest they're back into it and their home form has been you know home form has been I suppose good in patches but more more important the performances have been good and fun part they played very well they're well organized and that's what we're going to have to do tomorrow night and if they're out to get anything out of the game and if they can score first I expect them at least to get a draw. The game goes ahead there was of course the COVID worry within the Dundock camp earlier this week when they decided to go off in a team bonding session and and bell fast but everything has come back negative so it's all clear for the match but that's far from ideal preparation that the Dundock management would have wanted. Yes absolutely I mean there's a lot of things happening up there that haven't been good since the start of the season and just a lack of leadership there's obviously no management structure in place as such you know so that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible as well but yeah listen I know you can understand what the players are trying to do they're trying probably to to to big a wee bit of team morale and team boost by by doing something that has sociable grip and going out together but you just can't do it nowadays and then up to obviously bell fast and the night out I think a full squad of players minus four players potentially so you're looking at 16 or 18 players I'm guessing was up there so that's a lot and and the conditions that's happening with COVID the guidelines and then through county you know I know that changed in one on Monday but this was a Sunday so it was a day before so it just raises a profile and highlights deficiencies within what's happening in Dundock and it just adds extra pressure to the club to the players and I mean the supporters are not happy they're due to play in Shamrock always next week in Oriole Park and there's supposed to be a supporters are arranging a protest there so that's that just shows you very similar to Man United where the fans weren't happy so hopefully it'll not go to that level but there's a lot of one rest in there and the forms have been good in the pitch and that's actually to the core of why people are unhappy. Yeah but this is a game that Harps will think yeah we can get something out of the wind of course to Oriole Park and the one and certainly three points against the Lilywights so the former King pins we can call them at this stage of Premier Division football would be a huge boost as you were to go into games then against the likes of Derrata, Waterford and I think Slaggwell then after that that one. Yeah absolutely listen there's no easy games Oshing and the league but you know this is a good time to play Dundock really good time they're not firing there they have four or five injuries to key players which you know it obviously helps your case in regards to getting three points from them that performances haven't been good they've brought in a lot of players this year Oshing and just having better done and that takes away a little time they've lost a lot of players too as well and it's just been very unsettling for them but this is the perfect time to play them I think you know but we're going really well as well obviously disappointing against Bowles but at home our performances have been excellent and I'm expecting the same game and yeah it's a hard game for both clubs but can we get three points absolutely and Morse case now let's try to get a draw but it'd be nice to get three points to bring you into as you say the so-called easier games but if there is such a thing with the draw and whatever coming after that and especially another home game against Rada as well so yeah absolutely big big week I'm looking forward to it and should be good game yeah Derry City are going to Shamrock Rovers on Saturday evening six o'clock kickoff at the Talus Stadium how much of an ask is it for Derry to get something out of this one Declan yeah it's a big ask isn't it and I thought that you know the score laid on obviously against Longford and disappointing 1-1 draw and you're expecting them to turn them over after the two positive results they had against Slager Rovers and Bowles away so yeah listen so they need to do something obviously but it's a big ask I Shamrock Rovers who are not they're they're playing well without being really penetrating too much they're not scoring a lot of goals but they're scoring late goals scored another late one at the weekend against St Pat's and Danny Mandrew scored a late goal good good solar run down the right hand side and stop them behind lower and below the keeper's legs and yeah so they've done that four or five times so they just they just know how to win games I don't expect to see anything different I know that obviously Rory will probably set them up to have a low block and to be hard to play against and but I've just think it's just Shamrock Rovers too much quality and I expect them to beat Derry City but probably might be closing off 2-0 or a 1-0 just a note on a young Donnie Gaulman that's signed a lengthy contract in League of Ireland terms with Derry this week he celebrated his 20th birthday by putting pen to paper on a new deal that's young Ronan Boyce from from from Remelton obviously Derry think a lot of this young man so they do with with the length of the contract they've given him Declan yeah and he's done really well he deserves that you know we've seen I've seen him in obviously the live games and the Brownie well and he doesn't he just fell down there like a glove and looks as if he's been playing for a long time very comfortable in the right back position obviously scored a goal as well against Waterford I think it was so he's been doing really well in the club I put faith in youth this year and they're giving young lads an opportunity and this is a prime example and the rewarded Ronan with the long-term content three and a half years which doesn't happen too often in League of Ireland and it's great to see the club committing and giving the young players that opportunity and you know that's a long-term career hopefully for him with Derry City and we wish him well and he deserves that long-term contract the other games this weekend draw to against St Patrick's Athletic long for town against Bohemians Slego's match with Waterford has been called off due to the ongoing COVID situation in Waterford they played their 19s last week and they get about a hammer and Mark Bircham former first-team coach with Ian Holloway wasn't it that at Queen's Park Rangers is in charge now at Waterford Bircham's got a big job down there in Waterford if he's going to turn things around because it's a bit all over the place at the minute at the RSC Declan that is and you know if you look back at when Kevin Sheedy was there as manager and there were there were rumors that they were sacked and Mike Neula was there and they were then they were reinstated again and it's just been a difficult time obviously they're trying to get away but it's normally back in and they've announced obviously Mark Bircham to come in very quickly after after two manager and manager left the last time so yeah and then the COVID kicked in the middle of that so they played the 19 squad against Drawdown we're we're comfortable with beaten by the by Drawdown the day or six nil was it and so difficult one because the 19s are just back training and now if it was you know two or three months later where they're a wee bit fatter so you're asking 19s to step into play against first-team players that are who are not fully fit so it's a big ask for them and you could potentially understand why whatever it had withdrawn from this game and have given three points and a three-nil victory to Sligo Rovers that were obviously three big points for them but and obviously the LaVolder players back for their next match so yes that's an interesting one to see but yeah you're right what a job he has to do because they have you know they're down near the bottom obviously they haven't had too many points they have the players they were improving and they're a very young squad but they probably need a wee bit more and I would say he'd be looking to maybe add a few players with a wee bit of experience to that squad in July when the transfer one opens and that'll probably be what he's wishing for and maybe be players from England to cross to obviously add a wee bit of experience and maybe but more more technical ability in the top half of the pitch because they're not scored many goals. Yeah just finally in the Declan Sligo Rovers under 19s you kept it quiet was announced this week that you have taken up the managerial role there back into management you had a successful period at underage with Fun Harps you've decided to to take charge of the of the Sligo team now tell us about that move Declan. Yeah listen obviously Brian Dorian as everybody knows him as Dinky he was the under 19 manager up in Sligo Rovers and he got a new position within the FAI and he'd be working with the young elite players in denigal so we wish him well and that one and Brian's been involved in soccer a long time so it's a great experience so I'm delighted to see him get the opportunity so there was a vacancy obviously up there and I was lucky enough to get the job as 19s and I'm looking forward to it I've been out of the game now two years so I suppose from that perspective I've got a wee bit of energy back into it and I'm looking forward to the challenge ahead the Sligo you know they've a lot of good structures in place um Lee Buckley has a lot of faith in young players coming through and they have five young lads that are part of you know the first team um since I was manager of Funharp so I've had against them coming through and they're established players so they're giving that opportunity and that's key for me in regards to the player development and giving young players the opportunity to go play at that level so it's great to see that pathway and um yeah so I'm looking forward to the challenge it suits me as well actually because I worked on in Carrick and Shannon so it suits me traveling through um so I just train training out in the evening time and then go on home to to Minchardus so it suits me but yeah listen I really enjoyed my time with Funharp's uh I had great memories obviously we won the double um with the on the 17s in 2018 which was a great success and but you know now it's just something different and I'm looking forward to the challenge with working with the under 19 teams like Robert yeah I know you're just on the door and you had one or two training sessions at this stage with them Declan but what's going to be deemed as success in your managerial role with them yeah well excess for that role that's what was up there I'm in the checker corner where he is the academy manager up there and he's full-time and that's just great having his experience there as well alongside us but yeah so excess for us um would be that young players are getting into the first team and that's what they're based on it's not about one and trophies it's about under 19 players um and slago based players playing in the first team regularly and staying there long term and that's what's considered successful so which is great and that's what I moment I want to to work the best careers I want to improve them um I want to come into the first team but I want them to have longevity and their career and play at League of Ireland for the next 10 or 15 years Declan I wish you all the best with your your new position as Stegler Rovers on the 19 manager thanks for joining us once again on the League of Ireland talk and we'll have more from you of course with uh German and co-com on that done document thanks Declan thanks to all of you thanks man guys