I have never been the most talented player in the team but I will work the hardest.. if I fail I get up & try again
HOURIHANE’S DRIVE IS WHAT SETS HIM APART
CONOR HOURIHANE has revealed how a fear of being a nearly man is driving him on for club and country.
Back in the Aston Villa side, the midfielder scored his first Premier League goal in the 5-1 weekend rout of Norwich City.
And he now joins an exclusive list of players to have scored in all four of England’s professional leagues.
Added to that, he is also an international goal scorer, having opened his Ireland account with the winner at home to Georgia earlier in this campaign.
And while Mick Mccarthy experimented with the Cork man at left-back in the recent friendly win over Bulgaria, he will be back in the engine room in Tbilisi this weekend.
But Hourihane, 28, has no intention of kicking back and taking it handy in the belief that he has finally made it as a Premier League footballer.
“Even though I’m playing international level and in the Premier League, I’m always worried about that person behind me. That’s what drives me every day,” he said.
“It’s the fear of failure and not making it, and having to go back home and being that nearly man.
“I’ve failed loads of times. It defines you as a character when you fail and how you bounce back.
“Some people shrink and don’t fancy failing again. I’m not scared to fail again. And If I do, I’ll come back again. I never rest on my laurels because I’ve worked so hard to achieve anything in my career. I’m never satisfied.
“You have to have that hunger, that goal, that motivation to improve. It’s something I pride myself on.”
When he left Sunderland in 2010, Hourihane joined Ipswich, then Plymouth and then Barnsley. The Premier League and the Irish team seemed miles away.
“To come through all the leagues and make a half-decent mark at that level you must be doing something right,” he added.
“I’d a little bit of talent but hard work has got me through the leagues to where I am now – I’ve made the most of myself and I’ll continue to do it.
“It was hammered into me at home. My family has always done it the hard way and I’ve always worked hard, it’s something I pride myself on.
“You have to work hard or people pass you out. I wasn’t the most talented player in all the teams I’ve played in.
“Plymouth, probably not. Barnsley, probably not; going back to Douglas Hall, Bandon, Cork everything. I probably wasn’t the most talented but I definitely worked the hardest.
“It’s tougher when you’re younger but support from family and friends matters. So does having that little bit of drive in wanting to achieve something
“You need to have that self-belief. I’ve had more tough days than good days in football, that’s for sure, so it’s just something I’ve had in my armoury over the years. And
it’s probably a fantastic one to have as a lot of people can’t overcome the failures and the various setbacks.”
Ireland have not encountered too many setbacks in this qualifying campaign and head for Tbilisi top of the group with three games to go.
Mccarthy (inset) has injury concerns but the Boys in Green will qualify automatically with a game to spare if they beat Georgia and Switzerland over the next week.
Easier said than done, of course. Not least with both games away from home, and Hourihane said: “People are saying it might go down to Denmark at home next month. “But let’s see how Saturday’s game goes and
we’ll evaluate after that.”