Healy aware of difficult task ahead
Credit:
Finn Harps director of football Felix Healy was understandably a little downbeat having seen his team lose out to Wexford Youths but was in a way glad the cracks weren’t papered over.
Healy returned to Finn Park this week and will work alongside Peter Hutton in a bid to revive the flagging prospects for the Ballybofey club, who currently sit second from bottom of the Airtricity League Division One without a win in ten outings this season.
The former Derry City manager was forthright in his appraisals and stressed that he and Hutton will need time to get the largely inexperienced squad back on track.
“We don’t need me to say they are very young and in many ways very naive,” Healy said. “We conceded a very bad goal and it was one of the things we talked about on Wednesday night - how we conceded that goal. We were all over the place.
“A lot of them are learning the game and at the minute they are learning a lot of harsh lessons. We have to work that little harder and we have learned a great deal in the three days since we’ve been here. We learned a lot tonight. There is no quick fix but we will fix it. It will not be in the next week or two, but we will fix it.”
The footballing fraternity in the north-west were optimitic approaching the encounter with Wexford Youths, who themselves had only three points this term. However, Paul Furlong’s goal was enough to win the game for the side from the sunny south-east.
“Everyone came here tonight and expected a good result but I think Wexford probably deserved to win the match,” Healy added. “We would love the three points but if we had’ve gotten them everyone would’ve thought that it’s rosy in the garden and it certainly isn’t.
“The difficulty at this minute in time is that there are a number of players who are injured. I thought Christy Connaghan was excellent and he’s not 100 per cent fit. There are one or two problems in terms of getting the best out of players. They are full of energy but a lot of them are wasting their energy all over the place but as I said, it’s a learning process. We need someone like Peter Hutton out there.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for youth and always have been but youth needs to learn off old hands and that’s not happening here. Lining up a team tonight was difficult. I like 4-4-2, but having spoken to a number of people learned the only time Harps played it this season was in Cork and they got hit for five. I will soon play 4-4-2 here, home and away.
“I always felt that tonight was going to be a very difficult match after all that happened during the week and that’s human nature. I’ve always said that good players make a good manager.
“We have a lot of good talented players here but whether they are all good enough for senior football is debatable. It’s best to put in two or three at one time if you have the older hands. I feel sorry for some of those kids in there, trying to learn their education in football. There are so many things that Peter and I spotted. We have our work cut out for us but everyone knows we have our work cut out for us.”
Healy returned to Finn Park this week and will work alongside Peter Hutton in a bid to revive the flagging prospects for the Ballybofey club, who currently sit second from bottom of the Airtricity League Division One without a win in ten outings this season.
The former Derry City manager was forthright in his appraisals and stressed that he and Hutton will need time to get the largely inexperienced squad back on track.
“We don’t need me to say they are very young and in many ways very naive,” Healy said. “We conceded a very bad goal and it was one of the things we talked about on Wednesday night - how we conceded that goal. We were all over the place.
“A lot of them are learning the game and at the minute they are learning a lot of harsh lessons. We have to work that little harder and we have learned a great deal in the three days since we’ve been here. We learned a lot tonight. There is no quick fix but we will fix it. It will not be in the next week or two, but we will fix it.”
The footballing fraternity in the north-west were optimitic approaching the encounter with Wexford Youths, who themselves had only three points this term. However, Paul Furlong’s goal was enough to win the game for the side from the sunny south-east.
“Everyone came here tonight and expected a good result but I think Wexford probably deserved to win the match,” Healy added. “We would love the three points but if we had’ve gotten them everyone would’ve thought that it’s rosy in the garden and it certainly isn’t.
“The difficulty at this minute in time is that there are a number of players who are injured. I thought Christy Connaghan was excellent and he’s not 100 per cent fit. There are one or two problems in terms of getting the best out of players. They are full of energy but a lot of them are wasting their energy all over the place but as I said, it’s a learning process. We need someone like Peter Hutton out there.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for youth and always have been but youth needs to learn off old hands and that’s not happening here. Lining up a team tonight was difficult. I like 4-4-2, but having spoken to a number of people learned the only time Harps played it this season was in Cork and they got hit for five. I will soon play 4-4-2 here, home and away.
“I always felt that tonight was going to be a very difficult match after all that happened during the week and that’s human nature. I’ve always said that good players make a good manager.
“We have a lot of good talented players here but whether they are all good enough for senior football is debatable. It’s best to put in two or three at one time if you have the older hands. I feel sorry for some of those kids in there, trying to learn their education in football. There are so many things that Peter and I spotted. We have our work cut out for us but everyone knows we have our work cut out for us.”
