'I'll play until I'm told I'm not good enough anymore' – Michael Funston

Michael Funston can hear the footsteps. After all, how can they escape him? 

In two months time the former Finn Harps star will be celebrating his 39th birthday but the current Bonagee United man has no intention of slowing down. 

In sport some like to reduce age to a cliche, but Funston’s ability to keep moving in the ever-evolving world of football is a testament to his character, a figure who has been ever present in Donegal sport for the guts of two decades. 

Just last week the 38-year-old took to the field in Ballyare for the Donegal League team who faced off against the Leinster League in the Oscar Traynor. And it was for those 65 minutes where Funston showed why he has no intention just yet in hanging up his boots as John Francis Doogan’s side ran out 4-2 victors.  

“I’ve always said it, I’m going to play until someone says I’m not able for it anymore, that’s the plan anyway,” said Funston.  

“I’m still enjoying my football. At the minute we’re flying with the Oscar Traynor which in terms of football at this level, it’s the best competition to be in. 

“I think what I’ve always enjoyed about the Oscar Traynor is that you get to play with the best players in the county, you know how good they are, but you don’t know what it’s like to play with these lads until you run out onto the field with them.” 

Even during that memorable win at Diamond Park, Funston was far from a player filling a jersey, his knowledge to move into space and create options was partly the reason for Donegal’s early goal in the second-half.  

Minutes into the second half Adrian Delap sent Funston away on the right, he held off Kyle Murphy and his low cross found Edward O’Reilly who had a simple tap in at the far post as Donegal entered the driving seat at 2-0. 

Even after 20 years on the scene of a constantly modernising sport, it’s fair to say football will never be algebra to Funston. 

“I’ve been playing the game my whole life, I never really felt like the game has changed when you’re playing it, maybe I’ve just adapted with it naturally,” said the former Harps player. 

“It’s probably changed on the technical side, but I think it’s still very much a mental game, you still have to run for 90 minutes, you still have to tackle and put the ball in the net. 

“I probably see young players now focusing a lot on their technical ability more nowadays, which is great, but if you’re not willing to run around the field and tackle, all the other fundamentals are no good to you. 

“I think the level of football in this county has always been very good, I started playing senior football when I was 15 and I was in awe of how talented so many of those older players were. I especially remember the physicality of the game, I was just a young boy and you had to hold your own against grown men. 

“But that physicality is still there because young players definitely look after themselves better nowadays, they’re stronger and more athletic, so while the game has changed in some sense, it’s still as enjoyable as it’s been when I started over 20 years ago.” 

And while many younger players might see Funston as the experienced talent in the Junior League, it wasn’t that long ago since the Letterkenny man was the boyhood hero of Finn Harps as we hit the milestone of 20 years since he made his debut at the age of 18, the same year the Donegal club captured the First Division League. 

“It’s hard to believe how fast time goes, I always remember when I was a young player, the older lads playing for Harps at the time would tell me to enjoy it because it goes in the blink of an eye, and it really does. 

“I remember my debut at home against Kildare and the feeling of walking into the ground and just the pride of being a young teenager and representing the club. Look I was very fortunate to have the career I had. Not only in football, but in life it goes by so quickly, but I’ve always enjoyed it. 

“I made my debut in 2004, I remember I only had a handful of games at underage level before Noel King brought me into the senior squad. I remember Noel stepped down quite early into that year and then Felix Healy took over, who was obviously such a massive figure with Derry City. 

“Felix was so important that season for me in terms of just giving me a chance because I was only 18-19 at the time. I think we only lost three league games that season, and we ended up top of the table. That kickstarted my career and as they say, the rest is history.” 

Funston would go on to play over 330 games for the club in a 13-year period, establishing himself as a fan favourite and being remembered fondly for some gritty performances and crucial goals in the play-off wins over Waterford United (2007) and Limerick (2015), before retiring from the club in 2017. 

But his grá for the Ballybofey club is still as strong as he now watches them from the stands as the club looks to steady the ship through wavey waters of transition. 

“Yeah, I think there was always going to be a period of transition in the squad after Ollie Horgan left,” said Funston. I think in sport we don’t always appreciate what we have until it’s gone, and we were very lucky with what Ollie brought to the table. 

“Not just Dave Rogers, but it’s hard for any manager to come into a club that is very regionalised and more importantly a part-time club. So, it was hard for Dave in that way last season.  

“I think what Darren (Murphy) has now, is a solid nucleus of a squad. What I’ve really liked about Darren is he has surrounded himself with players who want to play for Finn Harps. 

“They were very unlucky against Cobh a few weeks ago. It took Harps a while to settle into the game and Cobh just took advantage of that early on, but the lads did really well to pull back a win against Wexford last Friday.  

“They have Tony McNamee and Dave Cawley there in the middle, players of real experience and leadership that the team didn’t have last year. 

“The club has started really well, and they seem to be taking a lot of confidence from that. It’s hard to know where they’re going this season, the next few weeks will tell us that when the league takes shape.”