 Yeah, you're welcome along to our look ahead to the new SSC Eertrisley season Which gets underway on Friday night who our best place to challenge the duck for the league title this season Can Derry City follow up on last season's great effort and what about Finharbs? Well, should we be surprised that there are so many people's favorites to be among the three clubs who will this year Drop out of the top division to answer those questions and a few more besides We're joined in studio by two men who have a strong association with both Derry and Finharbs Felix Haley and Kevin McHugh Gentlemen, you're very welcome Kevin for yourself, I'm sure these are strange times I can imagine this is probably your first preseason in a while that you haven't been involved as a player Yeah, just even Felix mentioned that they're now you'll belong off retire But those last 19 years we just they turned out and going on and it was a bit like come back to school when the preseason started You're you got the butterflies in stock. You want to go on and meet the new players and new plans this season So I'm not going to lie. I did miss it. I don't miss the running part of it but certainly I missed the camaraderie and getting into the change room of the boys and Be jealous I haven't done a visit them a few times there recently and watch them train You know and you do get jealous down and watching them, you know The only thing you miss actually the dress room. Yeah, but you won't miss the rest of it Yeah, you know 100% you miss you miss that you miss all the scandal and everything else Yeah, you feel like you're out of touch from the whole thing when you leave the dress room But I definitely must that part of it, you know Well, perhaps the players might not say this but for the supporters Felix the season seems to have crept up in as all of a sudden and You know suddenly it all gets underway next Friday night Perhaps the main talking point in the offseason was the change in the league structures all of a sudden now We are going to be in a situation where three teams will be automatically relegated at the end of the season So the pressure is going to be on right from word go There is a suggestion that there's doom and gloom all over Don't he go, you know everybody that you talk these things at the harps are certainly good on this this year that a lot of The body language the talk from everybody. It's been very negative. All I think was very critical of the change That's come this way There's no doubt. Yeah, maybe we sat here last year and we talked about how difficult it was going to be for harps It's totally difficult this year. It was remarkable that they stayed up last year It was it was a great the start this was we chatteled about earlier The start was vital for harps last year and it got them off to whereas the wheels come off later on And they just about hung on it's going to be incredibly difficult. It is very difficult up up until five or six weeks ago They maybe had three players And and within the football circles everybody was where they're going to get players and they end up bringing back players You're in the position where harps is where you're signing players that You probably in other days you wouldn't sign but you left with no choice And when you left with the budget restrictions that you have it is incredibly difficult enough harps Stay in the premiership at the end of the season You know all we will have performed a miracle Simple as that. Yeah. Well, listen, it's not a nice evening outside The rain's coming down and if we go back 12 months Felix That was the situation on the night that harps opened their campaign against Derry city It was a great night of fun park in terms of the event and the spectacle big crowd Not a bad game and the result as you Predict it. I think when we had our chat last year ahead of the new season the result went the way of harps You're gonna give him a big head now. Yeah well The first The mother Kevin tell you this the mother how many times you train in pre-season or many games you play It's amazing the change in in the dressing room And uh when you go out to actually play a competitive match for the first time It's hard to explain I mean I played for teams who had fantastic pre-season and couldn't win a match for a couple of months And people you play in pre-season can't Nothing clicks and all of a sudden it's very strange when you start off again The one thing about last year was is is I I felt sorry for For anybody the the fin park pitch The one in the first game of last season Was diabolical for a senior football club diabolical When when that pitch is bad, it's horrendous We talked earlier about the plastic surfaces. The one thing with plastic surfaces is you it's it's what they call a fast pitch The ball moves quicker. It's always whereas when a pitch is like a a potent Which I found perhaps it takes ages to move the ball around the pitch And it's been one of the great things that worked a harps advantage Particularly against the better teams I saw the playoff game against limerick the year before Kevin the pitch was a potent limerick were passing it But it was taking them 20 passes to nearly get in through the final third of the pitch Whereas in a fast pitch that doesn't happen Uh and going back to the start of last year If I was Ali, I would be up to every trick in the book You know Higgs is there and I think what they did was somebody brought the first thing Higgs He did one year was brought the pitch and made it smaller Which helps as well. We did when you play in the better teams. I would leave the pitch As bad as I could possibly leave it particularly when I'm playing the best teams If you're playing if you're playing a game where you don't really you're not interested in how you play It's about results where some of the better teams are interested in playing and getting results Make it as bad for them. I I tap in my playing days playing for dairy with the treble team We used to go to daily mountain. It wasn't even cut. We go and play bray pitch wasn't even cut. It was left rotted They should do that at found park. Yeah. Yeah to try every trick in the book that you can imagine to get away with it because That's one of the the best things that harps are going for Is the plan surface at found park particularly for the better club? and when it's wet and damp and it always is You're very very rarely There's maybe a two month period in the summer at harps Where you get what's called a fast pitch the pitch is good to good surface to play on Where the rest of the time it's slow. It's dead and it takes the ages to move the ball about. Yeah Yeah, well kevin. There's their new faces now at harps Danny Morrissey Kearno Connor Killian Cantwell Johnny boner those guys are all going to have to get used to this playing surface at found park Where does there no they're settling on well though. That's the morning I wouldn't take too much away from the plan surface. They've actually spent a hell of a lot of money there in the last two months Yeah, I'm getting the whole thing redrained. So it's probably I know probably going to go against some things but Um, some of the players that they've signed in just as you mentioned kearno and especially kearno conner um brilliant signing from blundock brilliant like uh, chatty even Stevia donnell He says he's a top player and they would expect to have them They were surprised that they were even allowed to let him let him go out and own so I laid on a master stroke there getting him in And he's probably his best sign was sean houston getting him back on board. It's basically the way Um, probably what harps are going to play especially at home. It'll be a counter attacking style Um, and houston's key to that. You can carry the ball 40 50 yards at his ease. So those kind of players, um And even looking at the squad in general, there's not many players in that squad don't don't want to play football And to be fair, I think even going back to derry game. I think we We definitely played the The pitch better than derry. Um, their manager was out stepping on devils as we were speaking about before the game And I think that played under our hands because it gave the players an excuse But it certainly did help harps for the first four or five home games. I'm sure Mcrover's in that company town And derry we got a lot of points at home in the first the first quarter So that was key and hopefully it'll be key again, but I can't see the pitch being as bad as it was last year There's no to getting away from it. It was per the start of last season and the club But I think all he's done really well as phoenix says like three or four weeks ago on the clean lay It was looking like you're thinking right who's and then as all he does He does what he does best. He talks prayers around and he pulls prayers out of the hat and he's done it again Um, I'm not saying they've a fantastic squad But when you look at their maybe from 10 to 14, they've really really strong players And outside of that you're going to be looking at your 19 players. Maybe they're gonna Have a step up. Yeah from from the last couple years From the way that harps are going to play cure cure no corner is is going to be It's going to be an outlet for them He's a wee bit. He's not as good a player as as young Chrissy Breen Uh, but what he will do is that when you break and you knock you can knock a ball up past people And he will stretch the pitch He will stretch the match and he'll get people moving quickly up the pitch Uh, he's a worker. He's a wee grafter. I I would think that higgy Stephen Kenny's done Higsey a favor as to do in Holly a favor because I think he did And I think Keirna Connor was at Derry as well When I think he did that's right was Higsey the problem down there as well And he's a wee guy that the people will see even we chase a bit of paper And they will particularly when harps are under the cauch and you launch it He will run in behind people and that always stretches every so so much. He's a really good worker And he does he does have a good work ethic. Um, uh, the difficulty that Keirna Connor has and Is Kevin has said that but Stephen O'Donnell on them are surprised. He's still only a young fella And given we're we're Dundalk football club we're at at this moment in time You've got to be top You've got to be really almost the finished article and be the top Real top top player to get in there squad. So it's it's it's it's it's good for harps that he's there Yeah, well, we can come back to harps in a minute or two But you know O'Connor it must be remembered as only on loan from Dundalk So as you safely like see he could he could end up back there before too long But Dairy City have also managed to attract a couple of new signings. One of them is a loan signing as well. Nicky Loog from Dundee Not too much activity in terms of of new faces coming and going at the brandy. Well, Kevin, but I think the suggestion is that the two players that have gone out the Mellond and McCormick are probably two of the better players from last season Yeah, it's probably about like Dundalk a couple of players are going out. I think You're not going to replace them in this country. I know Maybe getting boys on a loan. Well, they're good enough. They step up the mark And it's the same way young lad, Mikael Kennedy. You come in for Dairy there from charting as well Um, I see the finished article. I don't know. Um You do replace Vermellon and McCormick two really top players who made them tick from the middle and Yaman Vermellon was as good as attacking defenders I've seen in the league for years. So It's going to be very hard to replace that But what's going for Dairy? They have a really good spying the team between Jared Dordy, McBride, McNamee and Patterson always get you go also From that and They're in a stronger position than most teams. They have a really good spying to the team Um, but I don't know too much about the lads that come in on loan and I know they're youth internationals, but The league Ireland can be punishing. Um, especially when you're feeding up around the top end of the table It's you have to be the finished article nearly come into the league You know Felix how is Kenny Shields and Dairy City? How are they going to deal with the situation now that they're planning McGinn park and bon crana for for much of this season? Well, it's you know, county Surprised everybody last year the Dairy world Was surprised you didn't qualify in for Europe was was exceptional given where the club were at uh, when you're When you're having to move The whole clubs and flux given what's happened at the brandy worlds. It's it's all change um You've lost two guys who who were you know had really good seasons last year The juffling McCormick Conner McCormick did really well for Terry last year. And yet he's he's journeyed Done the Dublin, you know the usual Mary Garon there He's called a cork is a cork is a cork is he's gone to and and uh But Vimalans will will will be missed But I think it was known for quite some time that he would were gone to dawn dock Well, it doesn't matter who you are You know Stephen Kenny's in the market for players Ollie Horgens in the market players Kenny She's in the market for players But all three of them are working within a framework of what they can afford and there's a massive difference between all three You know, it can be that all these days made people a 200 year old Kenny's Steve Stephen Kenny is working with a thousand to two thousand euro were were Kenny. She's working with a five and six hundred euro So so you're in the market for different players and and uh, that's how you marry them all together The change is that the brandy world that Kenny shields in some ways has has exceeded all expectations last year and that's Sometimes when that happens you make a rod for your own back How is he going to sustain that this year? And The one thing with deli is going to begin park. We all know begins a great great surface Kenny she's his teams like to play they like to pass it But how that's all going to be married with a different environment of going down there and how it all plans out It it is going to be one of those it it'll be interesting to see how it how it develops That could be key to their season. You're right. They're that whole environment How do the players get just the the pitch the change rooms the whole like if you get off the bad start Well, the crowds come from dairy and the uncranout. I don't know if you get off the great start the whole thing could snowball so it's Yeah, well the question is will dairy be up among the leading clubs in the premier division next season We can have a look at the the top end of the table, but first of all we'll go for a quick commercial break