CONOR HOURIHANE | THIS CHALLENGE EXCITES ME, I WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING

[Official Site News]

Source: Swansea Official Site

Conor Hourihane hopes he can be part of something special at Swansea City having sealed his loan move from Aston Villa, subject to international clearance.

The 29-year-old will spend the rest of the 2020-21 season at the Liberty Stadium, and adds to Steve Cooper’s midfield options following the recalls of Morgan Gibbs-White and Kasey Palmer.

Hourihane is a proven top-level performer, and has played a key role in two promotions having helped Barnsley and Aston Villa go up via the play-offs.

He has made 150 appearances for the Villans, scoring 29 goals, including one at the Liberty in a 1-0 win on Boxing Day 2018.

And the Republic of Ireland international, known for his energy and threat from set-pieces, has made clear he wants to make a big impact with the Swans challenging near the top of the Championship table.

“I am delighted to be here. It is great to get it done early in the window, I am really excited and I want to get stuck into it,” said Hourihane.

“The gaffer has been great with me when we have spoken, he made it clear he wanted me here and I have heard so many good things about the style of play and what it’s like to live in the city.

“It just ticked all the boxes and it made the decision quite easy.

“I am desperate to play, I could have sat around at Villa for the rest of the season, but I want to play. I hope I can bring some experience as I have had a couple of promotions in my career.

“But I want to add quality too, in terms of goals and assists my numbers have been pretty good in seasons where I have played, so I hope I can bring that here.

“The lads have put themselves in a great position, it’s going to be a fantastic run-in and I hope I can help them along over the second half of the season and achieve what we all want to achieve.

“I am excited by the challenge, and I want to come down here and achieve.

“I wanted to get out there and have another challenge, I want to be part of something. I want to cement the side high up the table and try and provide a bit extra over the rest of the season.”

Hourihane also revealed how a former Swan, now on the books at Villa, had left him with only positive impressions of his former club, and left him in no doubt as to what was the right move for him despite interest from elsewhere.

“Yeah, Neil Taylor is a good friend of mine, we actually signed for Aston Villa during the same January window four years ago,” added Hourihane.

“We have been good friends ever since, we talk all the time and he has been telling me about Swansea City, and hearing good things from him helped me to come down.”

 

[monmouth]

If he wants to play every game, and thats the vibe from him and villa, who will drop out?

 

[PatchesOHoulihan]

If he wants to play every game, and thats the vibe from him and villa, who will drop out?

Hopefully they all want to play every game

 

[Pontyjack]

If he wants to play every game, and thats the vibe from him and villa, who will drop out?

Guess it will be rotation of Grimes, Smith and Fulton which would probably have been the case had MGW stayed anyway.

Means Dhanda will now be lower down the pecking order

 

[Cooperman]

If he wants to play every game, and thats the vibe from him and villa, who will drop out?

Guess it will be rotation of Grimes, Smith and Fulton which would probably have been the case had MGW stayed anyway.

Means Dhanda will now be lower down the pecking order

I'm happy for Dhanda to go to Leeds, Atalanta or Marseille for £20m.

 

[PSumbler]

Guess it will be rotation of Grimes, Smith and Fulton which would probably have been the case had MGW stayed anyway.

Means Dhanda will now be lower down the pecking order

I'm happy for Dhanda to go to Leeds, Atalanta or Marseille for £20m.

Plus add ons?

 

[CurtessECarr]

Guess it will be rotation of Grimes, Smith and Fulton which would probably have been the case had MGW stayed anyway.

Means Dhanda will now be lower down the pecking order

I'm happy for Dhanda to go to Leeds, Atalanta or Marseille for £20m.

I like Yan but he's not getting many games here. Looking at those clubs can see him playing even less there.

 

[Jinxy]

When a squad is doing well, everyone wants to play. Hourihane, like all other players, have to prove their worth on the playing and training pitches, and off field too. That's for Cooper to manage, and he's proved he's improving all the time. Competition can only be a good thing. A nod to Neil Taylor too for saying good things about us. Diolch Neil.

 

[Fireboy]

When a squad is doing well, everyone wants to play. Hourihane, like all other players, have to prove their worth on the playing and training pitches, and off field too. That's for Cooper to manage, and he's proved he's improving all the time. Competition can only be a good thing. A nod to Neil Taylor too for saying good things about us. Diolch Neil.

Was just going to post the same jinxy.

Competition is good, it will push players onto the next level which will obviously be good for the standard we play, it will rise.

I am getting quite confident.

 

[Jinxy]

When a squad is doing well, everyone wants to play. Hourihane, like all other players, have to prove their worth on the playing and training pitches, and off field too. That's for Cooper to manage, and he's proved he's improving all the time. Competition can only be a good thing. A nod to Neil Taylor too for saying good things about us. Diolch Neil.

Was just going to post the same jinxy.

Competition is good, it will push players onto the next level which will obviously be good for the standard we play, it will rise.

I am getting quite confident.

Great minds eh FB!

 

[eteb]

i like yan but cant say i'd miss him if he left. The purported 5mil is crazy money for him and would snap anyones hand off. He's 22 now not a promising 18 year old

 

[Wales Online]

Why Aston Villa loanee Conor Hourihane chose Swansea City amid Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest interest and the encouraging signs for Steve Cooper

Source: Wales Online

Fresh from a training session in the blustering winds of Swansea City's Fairwood training complex, Conor Hourihane sits down to greet the members of the media who cover his new club.

Squinting as the beams of light shine through the windows on to his face, the 29-year-old wastes no time in greeting the select few on the Zoom call.

The softly spoken Irishman politely enquires about the welfare of each of those to quiz him on his loan switch from Aston Villa before ending the string of questions from each individual journalist with a kind message of thanks, which were either a "top man, cheers" or a similar "no problem, cheers" gesture.

It may seem fairly standard practice to some, however, the 10 minutes and 32 seconds Hourihane spent answering questions offered up a telling insight into the traits of the man who became Swansea's second signing of the January transfer window.

The Republic of Ireland international has the character to slot in seamlessly in the current environment at Swansea.

His experience is telling, and not just from his CV.

The likes of Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and even Swansea's local rivals Cardiff City were credited with showing an interest in the midfielder this month, but Hourihane quickly realised that the Liberty Stadium was where his future lies.

It comes after Steve Cooper has repeatedly stressed the need to bring in the right characters in the January transfer window to bolster Swansea's promotion aspirations.

And Hourihane's own traits are clearly similar to those of his new boss Cooper.

"First and foremost probably the manager," responded the new signing when asked why he turned down other clubs to join Swansea.

"Over the last few weeks he’s been telling me bits and pieces about how he sees me fitting into the team and the qualities I’ll bring to the team.

"As a human being in general, he was first class. I was impressed by him and spoke to a few people I know about the area and Swansea as well.

"It seemed like a really good fit and for the first two days I’ve been in it feels like I’ve made the right choice because it’s a great set of lads. I’m really excited to get going and can’t wait to get started."

Naturally, the very fact Swansea occupied second spot at the time he joined the club was a major plus point.

However, it's Hourihane's own drive and determination to contribute that was the most important influence in his decision to leave Aston Villa.

The midfielder has made just four Premier League appearances for the Villans this season, the most recent of which came in late November.

While Dean Smith admitted he didn't want Hourihane to leave the Midlands this month, the manager accepted that the midfielder deserved the chance to showcase his talents elsewhere.

And the set-play specialist's eagerness to prove his worth shines through as he outlines the reasons behind his crunch talks with Smith this month.

"It was tough leaving Villa to be honest with you," he explained.

"It’s a fantastic football club and I’ve had four fantastic years there. I signed there four years ago this January. It was a difficult decision but it came down to game-time and I feel good.

"It’s been disappointing, there is no doubt about that. I’ve worked ever so hard to get to that level.

"My first year, last year, I played a lot of the games and was heavily involved which was great. For whatever reason the club has gone in another direction and moved away from myself. That’s life and that’s football.

"They’ve brought in a lot of quality and spent a lot of money. I’m 30 next month and your career passes by very, very quickly. When there was an opportunity for me to go out on loan I snapped it up."

The focus is now firmly on the present for the 24-cap Republic of Ireland international.

His new club sit in the automatic promotion places having just ticked beyond the midway point of the 2020/21 Championship season.

Hourihane himself is in contention to make his Swansea debut in the FA Cup fourth round tie with Nottingham Forest this weekend.

And the playmaker affords himself a wry smile as he expresses sheer relief and excitement when it comes to acknowledging that game-time will be a regular thing in the coming months.