CONOR Hourihane is the man to get Barnsley fans ‘off their seats’ insists club chairman Neerav Parekh after the Bandon native was appointed the Tykes’ permanent head coach.
Hourihane (34) had been in caretaker charge of Barnsley since they sacked Darrell Clarke last month, and he made such a positive impression that the club has handed him a two-year contract with a club option of a third season.
‘It’s pretty emotional, to be honest. I’m really honoured. I had success as captain, and now I want success as a head coach – it’s as simple as that. I want to win football matches more than anyone. Step by step, the ultimate goal is to have success,’ said Hourihane, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise into the world of coaching.
He joined Barnsley as a player/coach last summer, but the lure of full-time coaching was too hard to resist and he retired from playing before Christmas after he was named Barnsley’s new assistant head coach. Now, four months on Hourihane has been handed the top job at the League One club.
It was reported that there were two overseas coaches in contention for the role but Barnsley’s decision-makers were impressed by Hourihane's impact since he took over as caretaker manager.
‘He has been a model professional and ultimately what we have seen is a change in the style of play which is much more in keeping with what we want to see from the team,’ chairman Neerav Parekh explained after Hourihane was confirmed as Barnsley boss.
‘We want an identity within the football club, a hard-working and organised team that supporters can appreciate and get behind and I believe we have seen that in recent weeks. We are playing more attacking football, the players are getting on the front foot and looking to get fans off their seats, and we are also seeing academy players being trusted to represent the club too.’
Hourihane picked up his first league point as Barnsley manager on Easter Monday with a 1-1 home draw against Peterborough, and the club has two games left in this campaign with the new boss already planning towards next season.
‘There is a lot of organising, a lot of sorting out to do, a lot of planning – the club is in an okay place at the minute but we need to make it stronger, we need to make it better,’ Hourihane said.
‘In every single game people have seen things that I want to do – play exciting football, press, try and control the game with the ball. We have done that for spells and we need to make those 25-minute spells into longer spells.’
Barnsley sporting director Mladen Sormaz added: ‘Conor has earned this opportunity. Putting his status as a popular former player to one side, we have seen first-hand the meticulous detail that goes into his planning and preparation for every training session which has led to improved performances on the pitch.
‘Conor’s standards and principles are very clear and his desire to work with the academy and give young, exciting players their chance to develop is evident and equally, we are seeing some of the more experienced players in the squad starting to recapture form too. Our job is to now work with Conor to lay the foundations for a successful season.’
