'Needs time' - Barnsley FC head coach Conor Hourihane defended by Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom
Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has leapt to the defence of Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane.
It has been a bumpy ride in management for Hourihane, who has struggled to push the Reds into contention for promotion from League One.
With eight games left to play in Hourihane’s first full season at the helm, the Reds are languishing in 13th place.
Pressure has been mounting on the 35-year-old but he has been defended by Heckingbottom, who he played under at Barnsley and Sheffield United.
Paul Heckingbottom’s defence of Conor Hourihane
Heckingbottom told the Barnsley Chronicle: “I know because I watch enough of them, Michael Duff had the strongest squad in recent years and nearly got there.
“Then (Neill) Collins had a slightly weaker squad, nearly got there, then Darrell Clarke had a weaker squad again then Conor has weaker squad again. Conor can’t be expected to do what Michael Duff did. He definitely needs time.
“Forget the budget. I saw the budget that was published for last season and it absolutely dwarfed the budget of the Championship team when we got promoted. It’s not all down to the manager, it’s the running of the club and making the most of the money, making wise decisions.
“I know it doesn’t get any easier with some of the money that is thrown about now. But that is still a competitive budget.”
‘Strong-minded’ Barnsley boss
Hourihane was a student of the game during his playing days and started coaching in Aston Villa’s academy while playing for Derby County.
He later returned to Barnsley, the club he represented between 2014 and 2017, in a player-coach role.
His time in that position was short-lived and he made the coaching aspect full-time before succeeding Clarke at the Oakwell helm.
Heckingbottom said: “He was diligent, hard-working and wanted to make the best of himself so he was really easy to coach.
“When he got that little bit older and I had him again at Sheffield United, he started coaching and showing a real interest in it.
“He hasn’t taken any shortcuts and had that quality of being willing to do the hard things as well not just comfortable things. He’s not just rang Barnsley to be the manager because he did so well there, he had done a lot of coaching hours before that.
“I spoke to him when he first went in and we still chat, he’s a great guy and someone I always spoke to anyway. It makes you feel old when one of your captains is a manager now.
“It’s a hard job, you can get lost in it and you need to keep clarity because there is so much noise on the outside but he is diligent enough and strong-minded enough to deal with it.”