BY CHRIS MCNULTY
FINN Harps have already received two applications for the position of first-team manager.
Less than 24 hours after applications were invited by the club for potential successors to Peter Hutton – who resigned last Friday evening prior to the game against Athlone Town at Finn Park – the Harps Secretary, John Campbell, was pleasantly surprised to open the club’s email account and find two applications in the inbox.
While Sean ‘Wizard’ McGowan, who will take charge of the first team for tomorrow night’s game in Salthill, the last game of the season, has said that he will throw his hat into the ring, the Ballybofey man is not one of the applications already in.
There has been growing speculation in local circles linking the Cockhill Celtic manager Donal O’Brien, a former Harps player, to the position, but it is understood that neither he nor Trevor Scanlon, the Letterkenny Rovers manager who helped O’Brien guide the Ulster Senior League team to inter-provincial success recently, have entered the frame yet.
It has been suggested that the former Harps team-mates could go as a joint ticket.
While the former Sligo Rovers manager Sean Connor said he is ‘open to suggestions’ and ‘looking for a job in the League of Ireland’, it is highly unlikely that he will apply in Harps’ current position.
The closing date for applications is close of business on Friday 25th October, two weeks from today, and the club expects to have significant interest in the vacancy by then.
“It is a challenging and high-profile job,” Mr Campbell said, though for confidentiality reasons, he would not divulge the applicants’ identity.
“There has always been good interest in the Harps job and in half a day we have had two applicants which in itself shows that people aren’t daunted by the job.
“We are keen to give the new manager ample time to get to work and that is why we have wasted no time in inviting applications.”
All applicants should hold appropriate coaching qualifications in compliance with FAI licensing criteria. and are asked to apply to The Secretary, Finn Harps Football Club, Navenney Street, Ballybofey, County Donegal or by email to applications@finnharps.com .
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