Former Ireland midfielder Conor Hourihane has confirmed that he has taken up a coaching role with the Aston Villa under-16s. The Cork native will also continue playing at Championship side Derby County for the second year of his two-year loan deal.
The midfielder will train with Derby during the day and head to the Bodymoor Heath training ground in the evenings when the new season starts in September.
Speaking to the Southern Star Podcast, the Irishman said, "I'm going to be one of a couple of coaches. It's amazing just to be involved in it. I've got great contacts there still from the time I was there. I was in and out there recently over the summer, and they offered me the job of being involved with the under-16s, and I absolutely jumped at it."
"It'll be great for the experience and to have on my CV going forward, and I'm trying to do as much as I can off the pitch to get ready for the transition over the next couple of years."
Nice to see Conor Hourihane back at Aston Villa, he will be coaching the under-16s from September 💜💙#avfc | #utv | #vtid | @ConorHourihane pic.twitter.com/9UX6deDglK
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) June 8, 2023
Hourihane began his professional career at Sunderland, where he came through the club's youth academy. However, he didn't make any senior appearances for Sunderland and had loan spells at various clubs, including Ipswich Town, Plymouth Argyle, and Barnsley.
In 2017, Hourihane signed for Aston Villa and played a vital part in Villa's promotion push back to the Premiership. After that, the Bandon man had loans at Swansea and Sheffield United. He is now at Derby.
For Ireland, Hourihane has made 37 appearances since winning his first international cap in 2017. His only international goal to date came in a 1-0 win over Georgia in a UEFA 2020 European Championships qualifier in March 2019.
