Horgan: “I’m staying with Dundalk”

Daryl Horgan wishes to remain at Dundalk FC when they begin life in the SSE Airtricity League First Division next season – but admits his future could be out of his hands.

The Lilywhites’ relegation from the Premier Division was confirmed at the final whistle on Friday night after they were beaten 2-0 by title-chasing Derry City at Oriel Park.

However, 32-year-old Horgan, who is contracted at Oriel until the end of 2026, says he has no intentions of jumping ship – and wants to be part of a promotion charge in 2025.

“Absolutely, unless something drastic changes above me,” he told The Democrat when asked if he intended on seeing out his current deal. “Everyone who’s in there now needs to put the shoulder to the wheel. We as players have allowed this to happen.

“We have to take this on the head now and say, right, this is what we’re at and whoever’s here next year has to bounce back immediately.”

Emotional scenes came after the full-time whistle at Oriel as the curtain came down on Dundalk’s top-flight status, with supporters staying behind to offer their encouragement.

“You see the incredible support we’ve had after the game. I’ve seen clubs where you get relegated and they’re waiting outside with pitchforks and torches. They’ve been incredible this year and they don't deserve this in any way, shape or form.

“It’s a real community club and now when times are tough, we’re going to really need to lean into that. There’s going to have to be a real give and take from players.

“You can’t just keep expecting people to come in and cheer and say you’re fantastic when you’re losing games, but they have done this year and they’ve been incredible. I’m so disappointed, for myself, for everybody involved in the club, the supporters.”

Winless in each of their last 10 league outings, Dundalk have tasted victory in just five of 34 fixtures in 2024 – form which has condemned them to the dreaded First Division.

Including caretakers, The Lilywhites have had five different managers in the dugout this season, while the club have also been mired in serious financial difficulties off the field.

“I don’t think anyone knew the financial constraints that were on the club,” admitted Horgan. “That’s obviously only come up in the last couple of weeks, which was obviously terrifying in of itself that the club was going to fold or whatever.

“That’s not why we’ve been relegated,” he then insisted. “We’ve been relegated because we haven’t been good enough this year and we haven’t won enough games. We haven’t turned enough games we’re losing into draws and haven’t turned enough draws into wins.”

Horgan was a key figurehead in Dundalk’s three consecutive Premier Division title wins under Stephen Kenny from 2014 onwards, as well as an historic journey in 2016 when they reached the Champions League play-offs and Europa League group phase.

While that success on the continent was an unprecedented high yet to be repeated by any League of Ireland club since, 17-time Republic of Ireland international Horgan says The Lilywhites’ relegation is unquestionably the low point of his glittering career to date.

“I’d say the worst (night of my career). It’s pretty raw right know, it’s pretty terrible, but the table doesn’t lie. There’s two games to go and we’re relegated. We’ve not been good enough this year, plain and simple.

“It’s a club that shouldn’t be in the First Division, but you’re never too big or too good or too anything to get relegated and we’ve got relegated. The league table never lies. It shouldn’t have happened and it has.

“We all have to go away and look at ourselves, look what we’ve given this year. It hasn’t been enough. The end goal now is promotion next year, winning that First Division title.”

He concluded: “Football is unforgiving. You don’t get any leeway. You get what you’re giving. You get what you deserve and that is how it goes.”