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Conor Hourihane may be one of the most technically skilled players on the Republic of Ireland squad, but the Cork man had no qualms about citing the merits of winning ugly when interviewed today.
Hourihane spoke after Ireland’s 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League last night, which kicked off Stephen Kenny’s reign.
Kenny’s past teams have been praised for embracing an expansive style that has often been at odds with the fare served by the national team, but the Aston Villa midfielder maintained that winning remains the number one priority, even if doing so in style. now it was an option that would be offered to him and his international colleagues.
“We are in a business of results,” insisted a pragmatic Hourihane.
“We all want to win and, above all, we want to get good results.
“You just have to win and win ugly sometimes, that would also be absolutely fine. But if we can win and play well at the same time, that’s what everyone is looking for.
“The opposition will also try to win. If it was an easy game, we would all be winning and we would all be playing very well every week.
“We just try to take into account the ideas of the coach as much as possible. He has given us a lot of information to try to incorporate it during the last three or four days.”
“We want to play well, we want to win, of course, and that’s what everyone is looking for.”
Ireland got off to a brilliant start in Sofia, where James McCarthy returned from international nature after a four-year absence, while rookie Adam Idah, Aaron Connolly and Callum O’Dowda spearheaded a youth attacking threat that was not as potent as the fans would. I have waited beforehand.
In the end, it was left to a veteran, and an old head, to snatch a point for Ireland on their way out to Sofia, with captain Shane Duffy canceling Bozhidar Kraev’s opener in the 56th minute at Vail Levski Stadium with a header. imposing. to the death.
Hourihane now hopes that the result and a little more time in camp can serve as pillars for a better result on Sunday at Aviva Stadium, when Ireland take on a team from Finland coming off a 1-0 loss to Wales. .
“The manager has come in and we have only had three or four days to gather as much information as possible,” added the 29-year-old.
“We try to play the right way, the way he wants to play, and that’s based more on possession. We had 60% possession, which is good. We created some good opportunities, I think maybe if we had taken one. of them before would have been a different game.
“It has been a change of style, a change of direction, there is a new freshness with the arrival of young people to the team.”
“It’s a new time, a new era, a new style of play from the looks of the other night, which is great. So it’s a very exciting time.
“Hopefully the results will follow. It was nice to get a result, albeit a draw, but it’s something to build on.”
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