UNITED DATE IS SO TWEET FOR CONOR
CONOR HOURIHANE will make a dream come true when he steps out at Old Trafford this weekend – having been driven on by a tweet from 2014.
The Aston Villa midfielder (above) grew up in a Manchester United-mad family in Ireland and is itching to play against the Reds for the first time.
It will top off a character-building rise from League Two through the divisions for the former Sunderland, Ipswich, Plymouth and Barnsley player.
His spell in the bottom tier with Argyle saw one critic dismiss his top-flight hopes by tweeting: “There’s ambitions and there’s reality.”
But Hourihane will be one of the first names on Villa’s team-sheet for Sunday after his heroics in Monday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle.
He scored a brilliant goal from a free-kick routine, then teed up Anwar El Ghazi (below) with another free-kick.
And after his Premier League debut in August at Spurs, he could not resist getting back in touch with his social media critic, responding: “Never tell anyone you can’t achieve something.”
Ironically, the tweeter was a Villa fan called Craig Taylor. But Hourihane certainly has Villa supporters on his side now.
“I’m one of those guys who the more criticism I get, it drives me on,” said the 28-year-old.
“I’ve done it the hard way and come from League Two all the way up.
“But I always fancy myself at every challenge thrown my way. I’ve had more bad days than good days and it’s how you bounce back from the bad days that defines your character.”
His deadball prowess helped him score nine times in last season’s promotion-winning campaign and he has five so far this season.
After a fifth Premier League start, Hourihane added: “Set-pieces are a big part of my game.
“It is just practice, practice, practice. “I‘m a true believer that when you put in that hard work, opportunities will come and you will take them.
“I’ve had many challenges over the course of my career and it was one I was relishing this year. Hopefully if selected Sunday it will be a fantastic occasion to play there.
“I was a United supporter growing up and used to fly over and watch them. My dad is United fan and my brother and sister.”