CONOR Hourihane knows a thing or two about winning promotion through play-off finals, but he wants Derby County to go the direct route this season.
The Bandon man is captain of the Derby team that currently sits second in League One, in an automatic promotion spot, with seven games to go.
Hourihane and Derby enjoyed a statement 1-0 win over third-placed Bolton Wanderers last weekend, a result that puts four points between the clubs in the race for promotion.
He has won two play-off finals in the past with Barnsley (League One in 2016) and Aston Villa (Championship in 2019), and also lost play-off finals with Villa and Swansea, too, so it’s no surprise that Hourihane wants to avoid that lottery and go the direct route.
‘I've had a couple of promotions through the play-offs, so I'd love a top two one this time,’ the former Bandon AFC prodigy explained.
‘The experienced lads are more familiar with the 'run-in', so you try and help the younger lads along a little bit but you look at Cash (Eiran Cashin), Birdy (Max Bird), Sibs (Louie Sibley) – they are all playing well still at this stage so it doesn't seem to be phasing them at all. To add that experience to it, we're heading in the right direction at a key time,’ said Hourihane, who scored the winning penalty in the 2-1 win against Reading in the previous game. The 33-year-old midfielder has scored five goals and provided seven assists in this League One campaign.
Included in their remaining games is an away game against table-toppers Portsmouth on April 2nd, as the promotion battle hots up. The Rams’ next game is away to Northampton this Saturday.
‘We're all looking at each other now after every game. When we lost a couple, especially the Barnsley one, that hurt. It's just the way it goes. I still feel that Portsmouth are not too far away, they are in touching distance and I feel whoever handles things the best in the last few games will get over the line,’ added Hourihane, who knows better than most how to handle the run-in.
