The old saying respect your elders shouldn’t apply in football, reckons Conor Hourihane.
And that’s why he thinks Ireland’s new kids will be alright on the international stage.
Troy Parrott, Lee O’Connor and Jack Byrne all made their full senior bows at the Aviva Stadium last Thursday.
But Hourihane liked what he saw from the youngsters around the set-up all week - particularly from Spurs striker Parrott, who was involved for the first time but showed no deference to older, more experienced colleagues in training.
“Listen, you all judge them on how they do the pitch but we see a little bit more of them and how they conduct themselves in terms of the right attitude, good in training, sharp in training,” said Hourihane.
“I always like the guy who gives out to the older guy for not passing to them! So, they’ve all been great.
“I’m good friends with John Egan, he said to me during the week that when Troy is up against him, he gives him a hard time with his movement.
“And when John has passed the ball, he might leave a little bit on him to let him know he’s around. He’s been great.”
Aston Villa midfielder Hourihane added: “Definitely, the young lads have been fantastic, Troy has come in and looked really lively in training.
“Someone like Jack who has had a great year with (Shamrock) Rovers and you can see in training that he’s full of confidence.
“The young lads have been great in geneal and it’s always nice to see them come through, showing that sharpness in training and keep lads on their toes.”
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