Derby County midfielder Conor Hourihane has shared what he told his teammates before the victory over Bolton Wanderers.
Derby County took a giant step towards promotion out of League One by beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at Pride Park. Kane Wilson‘s winner from a set-piece 12 minutes from time sparked scenes of jubilation in the home end.
The result wasn’t season-defining by any means, but the outcome of it felt huge as the Rams moved four points clear of third place Bolton in the automatic promotion places.
Paul Warne conjured up all his experience of winning promotion out of the third tier to inspire a win late on, including a tactical switch and a moment of brilliance from a set-piece, delivered by the returning Callum Elder.
Warne wasn’t the only figure in the Derby camp who used his experience to have a huge impact on his players, with captain Conor Hourihane now revealing what he told his teammates before the game.
Conor Hourihane reveals what he told his Derby County teammates
Hourihane has been involved in plenty of promotion and play-off battles.
The one that sticks out the most is the play-off win for Aston Villa in 2019, ironically beating Derby in the final.
Hourihane’s previous promotion battles have placed him in good stead throughout his career and the 33-year-old now leans on those experiences to share his knowledge with players in the Rams squad.
He insisted that to win promotion, his side had to beat Bolton on Saturday and that is a key message he sent to the rest of his teammates.
“I’ve been involved in quite a few promotions and quite a few playoffs, and lost some, won some so, you try to lean on those experiences and talk to the lads about them,” Hourihane said on the EFL All Access podcast.
“The game that we had at the weekend, I said these are the types that you have to come through and get a result off if you want to get into that promotion chase and get to where we want to go. That was a big message from me going into the game and lads took it on board and came through with flying colours so, just little messages like that over the next seven or eight games will be key from me and the experienced lads in the dressing room.”
Hourihane will play a key role in promotion race
Hourihane’s message to the rest of the squad was certainly taken on board as Derby clinched a vital victory over the Trotters.
It shows that the Republic of Ireland maestro is a huge voice in the dressing room and the players clearly respect what he’s achieved in football having played at the very top with Aston Villa.
As he approaches the twilight years of his career, Hourihane’s influence off the pitch will grow more than it does on it and while he still plays an integral role in midfield, those key messages he sends to his teammates carry enormous weight at this stage of the season.
With only seven games to go, several players in the squad perhaps haven’t been in this position previously and there are others – like Hourihane – who have been there, done it and worn the t-shirt.
Once the season reaches a close at home to Carlisle, Warne will be hoping his players are donning t-shirts with ‘promotion winners’ on the front.