Former Swansea City loanee Conor Hourihane says he'd like to move into coaching one day and says his time spent with "brilliant" Steve Cooper in south Wales stood out for him.
Cooper signed Hourihane on loan in his final season in SA1, with the former Aston Villa man brought in on a six-month loan deal. He made an immediate impact and almost helped Swansea back into the Premier League before they fell at the final hurdle against Brentford at Wembley.
Hourihane spent the next season at Sheffield United before moving onto Derby County where he is currently pulling up trees for the League One side.
Looking ahead to the future, he has already started his coaching badges and if his experience of working with Cooper in Landore is anything to go by, he will be using the current Nottingham Forest manager as an example in his own workings, especially in the way he handled players.
Villa's Dean Smith and United's Paul Heckingbottom have also shaped the 31-year-old; but it is Cooper he reserved the highest praise for, and the midfielder admits County fans probably won't like to hear his glowing reference of the head coach of their arch-rivals Forest.
He says the way Cooper dealt with players who weren't always involved at Swansea was spot on.
"You can take little bit of aspects from everyone. I probably have a soft spot for a couple just because maybe I had fond times with them," he told our sister title DerbyLive.
"At Villa it was Dean Smith because of promotion to the Premier League and him giving me a chance in that league too.
"I have a fondness towards Dean. Paul Heckingbottom probably got me on my way and cemented my journey at Barnsley. It just so happened that he got the job at Sheffield United and then last year I got to work with him again which was great.
"I had six months - and fans probably won't like hearing this - with Steve Cooper. He was brilliant. A really good guy and I still text him now and again. It was just his way with the lads and he had this incredible knack that even if you were not playing in a game, everyone still liked him.
"That's so important as a manager. I know it's hard to keep everyone happy, but if you can keep the majority of them happy and believing in your work every day, enjoying coming to work every day and creating that environment and culture then Steve had that down to a tee.
"When I was younger I was way fierier. I'd knock on the door and stamp my feet a little bit. Dean would have probably had the brunt of that which I look back at myself now and go 'you idiot' - that kind of thing.
"But at the time I was ferociously passionate about playing. I am not saying I am not like that now, but you see it a little bit more differently. Since becoming a father I've had two kids and that's tamed me a little bit. I've got two girls and they've made me a bit softer but it's hugely important, in my opinion, to keep your players happy as best you can. Ultimately you need them to go out and deliver the performances on a matchday to get the results that makes a manager and a club successful.
"There's definitely a knack to that and that comes with experience."
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