Horgan insists Dundalk in safe hands

IT would be only natural if a few Dundalk supporters looked at the Preston North End result on Saturday and were a little envious.

Daryl Horgan was handed his first start by Simon Grayson for the visit of top of the table Brighton to Deepdale and conjured up a stunning second half assist for Callum Robinson to earn his side a 2-0 victory.

The 24-year-old, who also went close to scoring in the game, was later withdrawn in the 90th minute to a standing ovation as the new Lilywhites he plays for instantly took to him.

While Dundalk fans might wish they had their old number seven back on board for 2017, Horgan feels Stephen Kenny’s side are more than capable of claiming a fourth title in-a-row without him.

Speaking to 98FM on Sunday, Horgan said Dundalk have coped with losing key players before and will do again.

‘Dundalk have always bounced back from losing players who everyone has deemed to be crucial,’ he said.

‘Stephen is a very, very astute manager and he will bring in top quality players.

‘The players that are there already, it was such a strong squad last year that I can only see them being strong again this year and full of quality, and definitely challenging.

‘It would be great if they could do European thing again. Obviously it’s very difficult and it was brilliant for us to do it last year.

‘But you never know, if they could get a decent draw they could put themselves in a great position to do what they did before and maybe even in the Champions League.

‘But the league will be the bread and butter. It will probably be tighter this year with Derry improving under Kenny Sheils, Rovers improving and Cork keeping everyone they want to keep.

‘But I’d love to see Dundalk do it again obviously. It’s a great group of lads, lots of quality and Stephen is a brilliant manager.

‘It will be tight but it’s always tight enough,’ said Horgan.