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New Hibs defender on the ‘wow’ call behind all-in commitment

Published

1 year ago

July 3, 2024

Impending fatherhood and international ambitions top defender’s agenda

If Warren O’Hora is as decisive on the pitch as he is in making potentially career-defining choices, the Irish defender certainly won’t be caught dawdling at the heart of the Hibs back line. Once he’s clear on his course of action, the big fella goes for it. No holding back.

From what he calls the “pinch me moment” of taking that first call from Hibs, to agreeing terms and diving straight into life as a resident of Edinburgh, the 25-year-old has gone all in on this move at a crucial stage of his career. Which helps explain why, as soon as he got ‘home’ to Brighton after signing a three-year deal, he and partner Hannah decided not to take the suggested few days to pack up the house and make the move north.

A long drive up the road, with the car packed to the gunnels, followed immediately, O’Hora explaining part of the motivation for moving fast as he said: “Hannah and I have a little one on the way, hence why we’re trying to sort this out pretty quickly and get to know the area. We’ve already looked at a couple of places and we’re happy with the way it’s going; the club have been great, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“The baby is due in October. Our first one. I’ll see how it pans out and if I need to miss any games – can’t exactly say: ‘Have it now …’ can I? We’ll see how it goes.”

The ball-playing centre-half, already settling into the squad on the pre-season training camp here in the Netherlands, sounds genuinely excited to be stepping into Scotland’s top flight after a career that has taken him from Bohemians to Bournemouth’s youth system and then, most recently, three seasons with MK Dons.

He said: “When that phone call came, I was really thinking: ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is happening.’

A historic club of Hibernian’s magnitude coming in and wanting you to play for the first team at a packed Easter Road. That’s the pinch-me moment. The difference I felt when I got that call to say that there was interest there and I could come up and have a look around…

“It’s a long way from Brighton, where Hannah is from, so it was a big, big move but she was very happy with the news as well. It was a no-brainer in the end, and we just went full steam ahead with it.”

O’Hora has some pretty clear objectives in mind when it comes to building a career at Hibs. The free agent signing makes no excuses for training his sights on breaking into the Republic of Ireland national set-up.

“I’d like to think I’m still at a good age,” he said, adding: “I’m 25 and it’s a dream for anybody to play for their national team.

“You have to have that type of goal to keep you going. You need to have something to chase and if you make it there, you pick something else to chase and you keep going.

“I need to focus on my club football first to get to that milestone and this is definitely a club that can improve me as a player.

“If I do my stuff on the pitch and we do our stuff as a club then maybe that call will come and it would absolutely be a proud moment for me and my family, no doubt about it.

“It’s definitely in the back of my head – it has to be. I wouldn’t be pushing myself if it wasn’t. You have to see it as a challenge to get into the squad or get the call and it can definitely happen.

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