Conor Hourihane will face his old club when Aston Villa host Barnsley on Tuesday night.
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom
Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom has conceded that he can understand completely why Conor Hourihane decided to leave Oakwell for Aston Villa during the January transfer window, the Sheffield Star reports.
Hourihane had been a talisman for the Tykes in the Championship this season, helping the newly-promoted side move into the top half of the table. As well as his six goals, he also contributed a staggering 11 assists.
Unsurprisingly, that form attracted the attention of some of the division’s other clubs, and Villa were ultimately the team that won the race for his signature.
And ahead of Tuesday’s game which will see Hourihane line up against his former side at Villa Park, Heckingbottom admitted that he understood why the former Barnsley captain found it impossible to turn the Villans down.
Conor Hourihane
“If I had been a player in a similar situation then I’d have probably have done the same thing,” he said, as reported by the Star. “Money is a huge part of it because the figures he could earn in this league compared to what we were paying was outrageous.
“We were in a position where the club thought we were safe this season and it was a case that we would be losing players in the summer for free. If the club were happy with the money then he was going to go because Conor saw it as a massive opportunity.”
While Hourihane certainly made a step up financially, and there is an obvious gulf between the two clubs in terms of stature, there is no question that the midfielder has made a step backwards in terms of their current league positions.
Barnsley remain in the top half of the table, six points off the play-off places while Villa are 10 points adrift of their next opponents and languishing in the bottom half.
But Hourihane will be hoping to prove his new side’s potential is much greater in the coming months by inspiring them to a strong finish that can give them plenty of belief heading into next season, perhaps starting with a win over his old team.
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