Declan Boyle believes Finn Harps have never had it as good as regards the development of young players at Finn Park.
Former Harps captain Boyle – skipper when Harps won the First Division in 2004 and also when they reached the FAI Cup final in 1999 – is now the Harps Under-17 manager.
Yesterday, they defeated Longford Town 4-0 at Killygordon and Boyle is enthusiastic for the future.
Joe Boyle’s Under-19s have won their opening three games and another Harps legend, Kevin McHugh, has recently taken charge of the club’s Under-15s, who start their season in the autumn.
“We’re lucky in that we have good people in good areas,” Boyle said.
“We have lots of experience here at the club. The club is backing the development sides and that is very important. The end product is getting locally-based players going into the first team.”
Marc Walsh played yesterday but the Irish underage international will go to Swansea City in the summer, while Conor O’Reilly could also go across the water, Boyle said.
Harps lost 3-1 to Bohemians last week but yesterday James Carolan netted a hat-trick and Odhrán McGuinness netted another in the 4-0 rout of Longford.
Boyle said: “We have set a target of 10 clean sheets so that’s one down and nine to go. The lads have set that target. If you get a clean sheet, it makes all the difference.
“I’m happy with a lot of the performance. Overall, when you win 4-0 you have to be happy. We should have been three or four up at half-time, but they worked hard and kept plugging away.
“The fitness levels told in the last 20 minutes.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsportstalk/declan-boyle-on-finn-harps-underage-structure
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