Conor Hourihane has revealed that being snubbed by Aston Villa boss Dean Smith at Wolves earlier this season was the "trigger" behind his loan move to Swansea City.
The Republic of Ireland moved to south Wales on a deal until the end of the season, and he has been an instant hit, on and off the field, since his arrival.
He has so far featured in three games for head coach Steve Cooper - once in the FA Cup and twice in the league - playing a key role during his time on the pitch for his new team.
Supporters in these parts have been thanking their lucky stars - and Villa - for allowing the 30-year-old to move to the Liberty, such has been his impact in SA1.
His game-time at Villa Park had been limited under Smith and he was overlooked for a youngster - Jacob Ramsey - in a clash against Wolves earlier this term.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Hourihane revealed the exact moment he knew he had to leave the Midlands for the good of his career in the short term.
He said: "Listen, I'm always honest and it was when we played Wolves away. Ross (Barkley) was injured and the gaffer played Jacob Ramsey ahead of me, the young lad from the academy which I was very disappointed with. That was probably the moment where I thought, 'I'm going to struggle here a little bit moving forward'.
"Ever since then I haven't played at all with Jacob in front of me. Listen, Jacob's a very good player. A very young player with a lot of talent but I thought it was a harsh decision on myself at the time.
"The gaffer actually came out afterwards and said it was probably harsh to leave me out. The lads went onto win the game so his decision was probably justified but that was the trigger for me to think I might be in a little bit of trouble here."
Swansea, he added, then got in touch just a week or so later.
"In my head a little bit I was hoping there was a club in the Premier League to come along but it wasn't the case," Hourihane added.
"It's tough in the Premier League because you can only have two Premier League loans in any squad. A lot of the Premier League teams have two loans already so it's not easy to get a Premier League move in January. That was a factor why Premier League clubs didn't come calling.
"Villa were fantastic with me, though, they understood my frustrations and have added value to my career and the best thing for me to do was to go and showcase myself again and add value to myself come the summer time. They were brilliant with me to let it all happen."
Villa's loss has certainly been Swansea's gain.
Hourihane oozes quality, and his ability as a set-piece specialist has already paid dividends, scoring a free-kick against Brentford when Swansea were down to 10 men and up against it. At 30, he adds some experience to a squad fighting keenly at the top of the Championship.
Swansea face Norwich City on Friday night in what promises to be a mouthwatering clash between two sides who play good football.
Cooper has been absolutely delighted with the loan man. After his debut, he said : "I thought he was excellent. He's been so impressive from the day he's come through the door, which wasn't that long ago.
"But you can see that he's a real focused professional, an individual that's not only going to bring what he possesses, but he really wants to buy into what we're doing as well, and that's always the best way to be.
"I thought his composure and quality on the ball is what we want it to be. If that's the start if things to come then happy days."
Hourihane has one eye on the Euros with the Irish and another on his future, but in the meantime it is his loan period with Swansea that he is concentrating on.
Of his Aston Villa future, Hourihane added: “We’ll just see what happens. It’s great to be a part of that football club, it’s a terrific football club, it’s huge. The players that they bring in, it’s a pleasure to play with a lot of them, so we’ll see what happens come the summer.
“First and foremost, let’s make this loan period a successful one and then go back and re-evaluate.”
