ELOKA Asokuh has been confirmed as the new Head Coach of the Finn Harps Under-17s.
The Nigerian, who became a fans’ favourite at Finn Park after arriving from Rangers International in his home country in 2003, will be assisted by Michael Funston, who made over 300 appearance for Harps.
Shernan McCay and Chris O Donnell also join their staff as coach and goalkeeper coach respectively.
Asokuh was signed by then Harps boss Noel King in 2003 having won an U17 World Cup in 1993 with Nigeria.
‘Luka’ remained a regular at Finn Park and helped out in various roles down the years before his current appointment.
Funston played an incredible 335 games for Harps, making him one of the top ten players of all time in terms of appearances for the club, and he scored 35 goals in that time.
“Luka and Mickey are great football men and after giving so much to Finn Harps Football Club on the pitch, both are very keen to help the next batch of players make that step up to the senior football,” Harps’ Head of Academy Kevin McHugh said.
“It’s so important to me personally that coaches coming in buy into what we are doing, have a genuine passion for the club and most importantly want to better the players and themselves as coaches.
“We have seen a lot of change within our underage setup past few months and it takes time to get coaches in place that tick all the boxes we require within our setup.
“It’s OK having qualifications, but it ultimately comes down to the person behind the badges and it’s brilliant to have ex-players in Luka and Mickey get involved along with two young up and coming coaches Shernan Mc Cay and Chris O Donnell, which is a credit to them and great for Finn Harps FC in the long run. “
