37 points will ensure survival

CONTROVERSIAL former manager Patsy McGowan has said that Finn Harps supporters must be realistic in their expectations for the coming season and he has urged fans to stick with the club, even if their start to the season is not satisfactory.

Speaking at a Press Conference in Jackson's Hotel yesterday afternoon where Harps officially unveiled Donegal Creameries as their new main sponsor, McGowan conveyed his feeling that Paul Hegarty and company will need to ammass a grand total of 37 points to survive in the top flight. With three teams set for the drop this season, McGowan reckons that the battle to avoid the relegation zone will be fiercer than ever before as the League of Ireland prepares to revert back to a ten-team Premier Division.

Noting that the club have taken a giant step forward in switching to full-time football, McGowan said: "Everyone has to have realistic ambitions and people have to accept that it will be a stampede in the Premier Division this season. I know Paul might be looking further up the table and to Europe, but football can be a strange game - it has a habit of coming back and kicking you in the teeth.

"Ask the other clubs that are down there and they will tell you that surviving this year is the main aim. The team will play 33 games this year and if you look at it this way: getting one point out of 25 of them and winning another few you will get that 37 points - and that will be success this season. "Then, we can consolidate our place in the Premier. This case of Harps being a yo-yo club has happened too many times."

McGowan also called on the supporters to back Harps in their quest for survival while noting that the fanbase should remain with the club 'even if it takes them six games or longer to settle.'

"I know that we will survive and I know we will because of that man there," McGowan continued in reference to Paul Hegarty, "but as I said before football is a strange game."

The FAI Cup winning boss of 1974 added: "Everyone has a part to play in this. There was a great atmosphere in Finn Park at the end of the last season. I would ask is that going to continue or are people going to start getting disillushioned with the thing if the team lose their first two games."

Echoing the sentiments of his former manager, current boss Paul Hegarty said: "The Premier Division is where you want to be and you have to be realistic about the thing. We have to be in the Premier Division next year - that is the be all and end all.

"Clubs in Dublin have a perception that we are a big club and we have possibly underachieved in the past. But, this is a new team, a new squad and there is a new belief there - if you have that, it will carry you a long way."

Harps held yesterday's press conference to announce their new sponsorship deal with Donegal Creameries. A one-year deal, reported to be worth in the region of €30,000 was 'a very good deal for both sides' according to Harps Chairman John Campbell, who would not be drawn on any figures tied into the agreement.

"Hopefully this will be the start of a very good working relationship," he said.

"This is something that there has been a lot of speculation about where people were wondering if we would get a sponsor and who it would be," said Campbell.

"We have said from the start that we would be getting a sponsor and that we would get the best deal for Finn Harps, no matter how long it took. I think that we have done that in our deal with Donegal Creameries.

"They are a long-established business in Donegal and they have a great history - that was one of the things we were looking for. Hopefully the deal will bring something to both parties."

Niall O'Donnell, the Sales and Logistics Manager of Donegal Creameries welcomed the deal, saying: "As the only premier division soccer team in Donegal and the major local Creamery, it is a logical progression that two of the foremost brands in the County should come together as part of this sponsorship agreement."

Meanwhile, Harps have confirmed that they will hold a draw for companys who are interested in having their logo on the back of the team jersies. The €200 an entry draw is set to take place live on Highland Radio this coming Saturday and companys are urged to get their entries in by the end of the week. Tickets are available from club Directors.