Daryl Horgan joined Hibs on a three-year deal over the weekend, departing Preston after a year-and-a-half at the club.
Horgan had one more year remaining on his deal at Deepdale but chose to leave in search of first-team football.
The 26-year-old arrived at Preston from Dundalk in January of last year. He prospered during that initial half season but has since struggled with the arrival of Alex Neil as manager.
During six months under Simon Grayson, the Galway man made 19 appearances in the Championship, ten of those being starts. In a full season under Neil, he made 20 appearances, just two of those not being off the bench.
Speaking on Monday, Neil elaborated on Horgan's reasons for leaving the club. He has apparently been told by Martin O'Neil that without regular games, a place in the Irish team will be tough to attain.
"He was told if he didn’t play enough games he would struggle to get into the national side," said Neil.
That is very important for him and I couldn’t promise him the game time he needed. He’s a good lad and works hard, it was only fair to let him progress his career.
Daryl is a top lad, it’s not as easy to be nice when you’re not playing every week but that’s his character. I don’t think he was able to play to his best because of the way we play, and sometimes different styles suit different players. He will do well up there.
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
