[BFC SITE] Conor Hourihane Pre-Cambridge United Press Conference

Fixtures

• Barnsley Vs. Cambridge United - Sat, Mar 22 2025, 15:00

Interim Head Coach Conor Hourihane spoke to the media ahead of the Reds facing Cambridge United at Oakwell this Saturday.

On Jackson Smith and Joe Gauci Injuries

Jacko’s struggling a little bit, he probably won't be available for the foreseeable. Obviously he had an unfortunate incident at Mansfield, so that's that one out. Joe is couple of weeks away yet, so he’s not with us for now, he’s still doing his rehab at Villa. So in terms of them two, for the next couple of weeks, they won't be forced up for selection.

On Possibility Of An Emergency Loan Goalkeeper

No, we’re not looking at it, Flav (Kieren Flavell) did really well at Mansfield. He’s come up through the academy, he’s a Barnsley lad. I really like him as a keeper, as a guy around the place, and we’re going to go with a full backing of him, full belief in him. Everyone needs an opportunity in life. At the start of the season, he was probably fifth, sixth choice, he probably never thought this opportunity would come along, and here we are, he's going to be in goal at the weekend, so he has full backing. The fans will be right behind him, in terms of him being aBarnsley lad coming through the academy. Like I said, the club has a history of bringing players through the academy. We’re absolutely going to go with Flav and we have that full belief in him for sure.

On Goalkeeper Depth If Required

We've got Adam (Hayton) as well, who's the backup keeper to Flav at the weekend. If something happens to Flav, hopefully not, then obviously we've got Adam. I'm a big believer in giving people opportunities. Flav has worked hard all season. It’s been a bit of a strange situation all season with the goalkeepers, and I'm very happy to go with Flav for now. He came on at the weekend, looked solid, he did really well, at the start he was obviously nervous, making his debut in front of the Barnsley away following, but he adapted really, really well, and I’m really looking forward to seeing him play at the weekend.

On Marc Roberts Availability

No, Robbo’s (Marc Roberts) going to be out for weekend. He picked up a little bit of a concussion, so he won't be available.

On Other Injury Updates

The two of them that are close really are Donovan and Fabio. They're back in training, and available for selection so they'll be involved in some part at the weekend.

On Takeaways Of First Full Week As Head Coach

Your organisation needs to be top level, I think it was chaotic last week in terms of Thursday, Friday, heading into Mansfield, a disappointing performance, disappointing result, of course, there’s no getting away from that. I said to the lads on Monday, the work that they did, Thursday, Friday, it's not going away, it's not going anywhere, it's sticking, I believe in them, I back them, and that's a real important message. I think ultimately, they have to believe in themselves over anyone else. They're really good footballers, they can handle the ball, they just need to get that little bit of belief in them that I've got in them, and they have to do that themselves as well, to really kind of take on the message and for them to execute it come game day.

On Players Dealing With Tough Love and Honesty:

I think since I came in from day one, that's been my approach, a real demand on the players. They know that from day one, little bit of consequences, obviously, if they don't reach that demand. And I've said to them from day one as well, I'll show them plenty of love if they reach that demand and put good work in and good performances in. As a captain, when I was a player, I was demanding, I was one of the first in, last out every single day, high class standards, and that doesn't change now as a coach, so the lads know that, they've responded well to it. The staff around the place have responded well to it, from the messages I’ve been receiving back, they've all been saying really positive things about it. On the grass, they've been really good, really responsive, taking on the messages and fingers crossed now at the weekend, we can just put in the performance to back up all the work that we've all been doing.

On Frustrations After Mansfield

The fans demand as well, they want to see performances, they want to see results. A club of Barnsley’s stature in this league, they demand to be in and around the playoffs, minimum, and we're not there as of yet. So we need to change that mentality around and win some games without a doubt, there's no getting away from that, but I know, obviously, with the previous history I've got with the club, my first home game at the weekend, they'll be loud, they'll be behind me. They'll be behind the players, no doubt about it, and fingers crossed, we can get that performance more than anything for them, that they'll be proud of.

On The Question Of Cambridge Being a Must Win

With every game you go into it, it's near on a must win, you don't go into any game going we’ll settle for a point here today, all of them are wins, all of them. That's the way I approach it as a coach, that's the way this club should approach every game, going to win games being on the front foot. So whether it was Cambridge or Birmingham at home, we’re going to win, simple as. So fingers crossed we can put a performance in that leads to a win, but we've still got a team in front of us, like Cambridge, fighting for their lives that are going to make it difficult. So we've got to be at our very best with and without the ball, and hopefully, come five o'clock on Saturday, we’ll be where we want to be.

On Results Being Hard To Come By At Oakwell

I think if you go on losing streaks in certain ways, whether it's at home or away or just in general, or if you win more at home or away, or get consistency in terms of home and away, then it just snowballs, doesn’t it? And unfortunately for the club, it's snowballed into this kind of matter that everyone talks about this home form's not great, and we need to try and change that. The Mansfield pitch and the Barnsley pitch is very similar, It's green with white lines, what's the difference? We need to get that in our heads that we need to stick to the game plan, stick to the work and regardless if we're playing at Barnsley, Mansfield, or Old Trafford, it's still the same scenario, we just follow up the game plan. The supporters will be right behind us and then let's carry it out.

On Thoughts Around Cambridge

I fully respect Neil (Harris), and I fully expect a response, they're fighting for their lives, like we said, they obviously lost a big game for themselves in a bit of a derby game against Peterborough last time and they'll be hurting from that, and they'll be looking for a response, so they'll be coming here no doubt with a mentality that they want to do one over on us, and we need to be ready for that. We need to be ready for the basics of the game, first and foremost, standing up to that, matching their physicality, and then smoothing it out in the right way, and when it opens up, you’ve got to show our quality. But they're struggling, of course, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be any way, shape or form, an easy game. We need to be bang at it from the word go and stick to the work, stick to the game plan. It's been a good week's work so far, a good couple of days work, today and tomorrow, and we'll be ready to go on Saturday.

On Thoughts Around Walking Out At Oakwell For The First Time As Head Coach

It's going to be special, and I can't kind of get away from that, my wife and kids will be here, my Mum and Dad actually are over from Ireland. They haven't even kind of done a quick journey to get organised to be here, they actually had pencilled in this game for months before, so it's funny how it works out, so they'll be here in the crowd as well, so it will be pretty special. Like you said, the fans will be right behind me and the team, no doubt, and I'm looking forward to hopefully that buzz come three o'clock and we can put a performance in.

On The Club Meaning a Lot

Yeah, it does, they gave me the opportunity as a player, really put me on the map, obviously, there was a lot of hard work I put in for that as well, there's no getting away from that, and it’s the exact same for this. I put a lot of hard work into getting into this position away from the football club, Barnsley gave me the opportunity to come back for a coaching role. Yes, it's spiralled into something that I didn't think would happen so soon, but it’s another opportunity that the club have given me. So, from a player and from a coaching point of view, they've given me a lot, so I want to repay them over this next nine game period with some good performances and results.

Tickets | Cambridge United (H)

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Hopefully he wins a few games. The football improves. Especially at home and he gets the job in the summer. They bring back white shorts and trim on the shirt. Everyone's happy when we win promotion next season.