Hourihane: First match of the Kenny era was ‘very enjoyable’

Conor Hourihane believes there will be better to come from Ireland under Stephen Kenny as the players adapt to a new style of play and settle into the roles expected of them by the new manager.

The Corkman accepts that it was not the dream start that the players or people back at home had been hoping for, but he says that the post-mortem yielded as many positives as negatives and that the team can build on elements of the performance and the manner in which they salvaged a point late on.

“The positives were we tried to pass the ball a little better than we probably did under previous regimes and we were a lot more patient than usual,” he said after returning with the squad to Dublin on Friday.

“There were times we gave it away a little bit cheaply and the goal probably wasn’t great, but we stuck to the principles that this manager wants, to keep passing the ball, even though we were 1-0 down and showed that spirit and never-say-die attitude to get a well-deserved goal in the end.

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“I think all the lads enjoyed it,” he continued, “a lot of managers nowadays want to pass the ball and a lot of us go about our business that way at club level. It was very, very enjoyable. We had a lot of possession, we created some chances, so positives moving forward.”

The Aston Villa midfielder gives the very firm impression of the being happy with the new direction being pursued but suggests both Kenny and the players will need a little more time to get things right.

“The manager has come in and we have only had three or four days to take on as much information as possible; we tried to play the right way, the way he wants us to play, which is more possession-based. We had 60 per cent-odd possession, which is good. We created some good chances, if we had taken one of them earlier it would have been a different game.

“It’s been a change in direction and style, there’s a new freshness with the young lads coming in. It’s a new style, new era, new playing style by the looks of the other night which is great. So it’s a very exciting time.

“Hopefully results will follow; it was nice to get a result albeit a draw, but something to build on. It’s good for some confidence and something to build on heading into Sunday. Obviously a draw isn’t what we want, we want more wins than draws, but it’s something to take forward.”