Former Sunderland duo step up as Hartlepool United favourite is sacked by EFL club

Former Sunderland academy midfielder Conor Hourihane is to take interim charge of League One club Barnsley for the rest of the season.

The 36-times capped Republic of Ireland international started his professional career on Wearside before going on to play for the likes of Swansea City, Aston Villa and Derby County. Hourihane brought down the curtain on his playing career last year after a second spell with Barnsley and was appointed as assistant manager to former Hartlepool United midfielder Darrell Clarke at Oakwell.

However, Hourihane will now step up to replace Clarke for the remainder of the campaign after he was sacked in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s 3-0 home defeat against Blackpool. The Tykes board opted to make a change after the loss left Barnsley in tenth place in the League One table and they now lie eight points adrift of the play-off places. Hourihane will be assisted by another familiar face for Sunderland supporters as Jon Stead, who made 39 appearances during an 18-month stay at the Stadium of Light, forms part of a coaching team alongside Martin Devaney and Tom Harban.

In a statement released on the League One club’s website, chairman Neerav Parekh said, “We would like to thank Darrell for his efforts in a season which has been difficult for various reasons. Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the play-offs and feel that a change is needed.”

Sporting Director, Mladen Sormaz looked to the future as he revealed a list of possible long-term replacements for Clarke has already been drawn up - and he also backed former Black Cats academy star Hourihane to help the club continue their fight for a play-off spot in the third tier.

He said, "Darrell is someone I respect and have enjoyed working with and I’d like to thank him for his efforts this season. Whilst a list of replacements has been identified, we will take some time to ensure the next appointment is the right one with a focus on playing identity, returning to high pressing and attacking football. We believe that Conor can help to create enough bounce to keep us fighting for the top six until the end of the season. We will also be working in parallel to have a new Head Coach in place over the summer.”

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