Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane on timing of exit announcement and his take on 'obscene' refereeing decision v Bradford City

The Irishman will leave his position at the end of the season by mutual consent following talks between him and the club.

On the timing of the announcement, which surprised many, he said: "It's been happening over the last kind of week or so, it's been a busy few days. I don't think there's ever going to be a right time because of our schedule.

"We've got games on Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. Whenever we announce it, whether it's this morning, whether it's Monday, there's going to be a game around the corner. So, I wanted it to do it today.

"I just wanted it out there. I didn't want the kind of the burden of carrying it around and not speaking to the players properly on this and whatever. So I addressed the players this morning.

"Obviously, I knew what time it was going out. I was really open and honest with them, and I asked them for a performance to make me proud. And by God, did they pay me back.

"It was just general discussions between myself, board and the club, how it's going to look moving forward.

"And we came to the conclusion that it was kind of best to part ways.

"The discussions will stay in-house and very private, obviously. There's great respect between me, club, board, fans and everyone involved. And we just felt the end of the season, it's probably the right time just to part ways."

There have been suggestions that Hourihane's interview after the home derby with Doncaster Rovers last month - when he candidly said that supporters should not expect the club to be in the play-off mix next season given the playing budget they will be operating under - was a key reason behind the decision to part ways.

He added: "Not necessarily. I understand that people will probably point to kind of that interview or that comment or whatever.

"And I can believe that's the conclusion that some people will make.

"But look, I think over the course of the season, there's been some great moments. There's been some average moments, some poor moments, some inconsistent moments and some amazing moments like we just had today.

"And it's just general discussions around moving forward, how it was going to look. And both parties probably felt that it's probably the right choice.

"But what I do hope is that the club move forward in a really good position.

"I'm a supporter now. I was a captain. When the summer comes, obviously, then officially I will be a supporter.

"And I want the best for the football club. There's no getting away from that. I'll be looking for their scores more than anyone, hoping that they win constantly."

Barnsley - who played for the majority of the game with 10 men following the eighth-minute dismissal of Vimal Yoganathan for a reckless challenge on Ibou Touray - dug deep to secure a heroic point against promotion-chasing City, thanks to a first league goal for Halifax lad Leo Farrell, who scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time in a pulsating 2-2 draw.

Eoghan O'Connell put the Reds ahead early on in an engrossing second half, but strikes from Nick Powell and an own goal from Marc Roberts in the final quarter looked like securing three points for the visitors - until Farrell struck.

There was major controversy in the second half with Barnsley incensed at a non-penalty award following a challenge by Harrison Ashby on substitute Reyes Cleary.

On Yoganathan's red card and the non-penalty, Hourihane added: "In the heat in the moment, you want to shout it's not a red card and all that, but it probably was, if I'm honest, and that's me being totally honest.

"I probably thought it was a red card in the end. After seeing it, you hope that it's not as bad as what the ref saw. And I've gone in to see the ref after the game and praised him for the red card decision, because it is a red.

"Vimal had so many duels and so many tackles against Rotherham and Port Vale, and he's come out with the ball and he's been terrific over the two games.

"And he's just mistimed one. So he'll be disappointed with himself, but he'll be really proud of the lads because of the effort they put in. I've been in to see the ref, and I'm going to try and stay really, really calm because if we hadn't had got something from the game, that decision is so poor."

On the non-penalty, he said: "The lad has lunged, Reyes toe-poked the ball past him, and to not give a penalty for that. I can't believe it to be honest.

"I'm actually disappointed we didn't win, to be honest, because I thought the lads were that good. But to not get a penalty for that decision is just obscene.

"It’s one of the best performances I think the lads have done all season, in my opinion."