Bandon helps keep high-flying Conor Hourihane grounded

He might be about to join football’s elite as a Premier League player but his native Bandon helps keep the feet of Ireland and Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane firmly on the ground.

“Where I live, everyone has sort of bought into the town and it’s fantastic to be there,” he told the BBC about his visits home.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, look at Conor, he’s at Aston Villa’ or whatever. It’s more like ‘Oh, Conor’s back, let’s have a chat with him and see how things are going’. It’s very laid back. You see people that you played GAA with or that you went to school with growing up, and you just have a chat with them. That’s why I like going back.”

On the back of a breakthrough season for club and country, Hourihane is relishing the chance to test himself at the highest level in England.

“It’s all new to myself, so it’s really exciting,” he said. “It’s been a long journey and a fantastic journey, a lot of ups and downs. But I’m 28-years-old and finally got here. It’s great.”

As for the promoted club’s ambitions on their return to the top flight, the playmaker is of the view that to thrive Villa must first ensure they survive.

“I think that (staying up) has to be the first goal for us, first and foremost,” he said. “We don’t want a situation again where we get relegated. That would just be a disaster. Everyone knows that. If we stay up, that’s a big, big plus because we can build on that going forward.

“Obviously I know with the amount of money we’ve spent and with the expectations of the fans, they’re going to expect more than that.

“We’ll have our own targets and goals that we want to reach and hopefully over the course of the season, our expectations and the expectations outside the club will get to somewhere that everyone is happy with.”

Hourihane is especially looking forward to pitting his wits against last season’s top two, champions Manchester City and European kingpins Liverpool. “I think they’re a step ahead of everyone at the minute,” he acknowledged.

“They’ve got so many fantastic players, both squads are absolutely electric. Attacking-wise and defensively they’re so good as well. So to test myself against them and those sorts of teams will be great.”