Mick McCarthy has shared that Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane will start at left-back for the Republic of Ireland in their friendly encounter against Bulgaria on Tuesday night.
It would be a surprise if Hourihane has ever played at full-back in his senior career before because during his time at Villa, he has always deployed a midfield role.
Hourihane does have defensive qualities to his game, for the most part, he has played the deepest of the three midfielders at Villa.
But the fact that he will now be lining up on the international stage in an unfamiliar role will no doubt surprise many, including the Villa supporters.
“Conor Hourihane is playing left-back,” McCarthy told Off The Ball. “He has a wonderful left-foot, hasn’t he? Wouldn’t it be amazing if he played really well and you think, ‘oh, wow’.
“If he doesn’t play well then there’s nothing ventured and nothing gained. He is one of those that hasn’t been playing and I’d like him to have more minutes. He wanted to have more minutes.”
Hourihane has the left foot to produce the goods in the left-back role, he is comfortable on the ball and has that bite to his game.
The question has to be asked whether he understands the role enough and if he pulls it off then it’ll no doubt enhance his CV.
At Villa, this season, Neil Taylor, who is a Wales international, has started at left-back, whilst summer signing Matt Targett appeared for a brief period against Crewe in the EFL Cup last time out.
Either way, it remains to be seen what Villa manager Dean Smith will make of Hourihane playing at left-back. In truth, he has nothing to lose because it is a friendly encounter.
