How is Conor Hourihane faring at Barnsley after Derby County exit?
09/25/2024 11:15 AM
Derby County saw a number of experienced players depart this summer and amongst those to have moved on was Conor Hourihane.
Derby County were always bound to revamp their squad after winning promotion from League One, meaning a handful of their squad were allowed to leave on a free transfer.
It was not a massive surprise seeing as a handful of the Rams’ additions from the 2022/23 campaign were signed on two-year deals with the sole goal of returning the club to the Championship. Korey Smith fell into that category and joined Cambridge United, whilst Joe Wildsmith and Louie Sibley secured second tier moves to West Brom and Oxford United respectively.
Veteran strikers Dwight Gayle and Martyn Waghorn were also released, the latter yet to find a club whilst Gayle recently joined Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.
Whispers had suggested that Hourihane could have potentially hung up his boots with coaching in mind, but a return to Barnsley made sense for the Irishman when it was announced he had signed a multi-year deal with the Tykes as a player/coach.
But just how has the 33-year-old fared since beginning his Oakwell reunion? We take a look here…
A transitional start
Barnsley are well-padded in their midfield department, so there has been relatively little pressure on Hourihane to perform at the level he did many years ago for the Tykes.
Darrell Clarke spoke recently on the addition of the former Derby County captain, stating that he joined the club hoping to have more of an emphasis on coaching rather than playing. Seemingly, that has been the case so far.
Hourihane featured in Barnsley’s opening third tier fixture, coming off the bench for half an hour as Mansfield Town handed the South Yorkshire outfit a shock 2-1 defeat on home soil.
He sat out of the squad for the following match against Lincoln City, which Clarke’s men won 2-1, before starting the next fixture against Northampton Town where he featured for little under an hour as a 2-2 draw played out at Oakwell.
The Republic of Ireland international has not made an appearance since, being out of the squad for the Tykes’ clashes with Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers, Stevenage and Burton Albion – a spell which saw Barnsley pick up nine points from a possible 12.
Phasing out of playing
In the same press conference previously alluded to, Clarke mentioned the loss of Dean Whitehead from his coaching staff after the former Stoke City man joined the set-up of new Potters boss Narcis Pelach at the bet365 Stadium.
There was no reason to be downbeat, however, as he labelled Hourihane a ‘massive asset’ and claimed the ex-Ram was doing a ‘terrific job’ behind the scenes.
From regular dialogue between the pair, Clarke confirmed that Hourihane’s passion was now mainly with coaching and that his body is no longer what it used to be despite his efforts to keep his fitness levels high this season.
He is unlikely to have made his last appearance for the League One outfit, with the Tykes boss also stating he will be used when deemed necessary, though it is pretty clear now that his time at Derby County will go down as his last spell as an on-field regular as the three-time promotion winner pledges more and more focus towards his career post-playing.
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