HEIMIR HALLGRÍMSSON IS not on social media and there is such clarity in his reasoning that it really makes you wonder why so many of us still are.
“That’s something I have learned, to not be bothered by someone else’s opinions. If you stay in that world, that is other people’s thoughts. That can mess with what you think is right or wrong,” the new Republic of Ireland manager said.
He was sitting on a picnic bench by the side of pitches at Verona FC in west Dublin as he laid out the backbone to his approach.
“I will be judged by the people who hire me, that is my philosophy. Of course, you can’t avoid knowing what people are saying, so this is why a good press officer is necessary for a national team coach, to tell me ‘this is the discussions’, instead of me reading things that are being said, then the day would just be wasted in other people’s thoughts. We need to really prioritise our time.”
There can be no convincing argument against such sound logic.
Hallgrímsson also says his eyes have been opened to the task at hand since landing in Dublin in the middle of last week, as well as the draw of the GAA All Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-finals played over the weekend.
“I didn’t see all of it but I saw the people at the hotel glued to the TV,” he said.
“I am slowly getting it (that sense), of how big it (the job) is here. The interest since I have arrived has been amazing. It seems like everyone is reading the papers, the news and knows the face. Everybody wishing me good luck. I really appreciate it. I didn’t think it was this big, but I am getting my head around it.”
Top of his agenda, as he explained earlier in the day, was to meet John O’Shea in Waterford and convince him to join his staff as assistant manager.
Hallgrímsson sees O’Shea as a natural successor and the way he explained his previous working relationship with Lars Lagerback at Iceland illustrates that he is a pragmatist with an open mind for experimentation so long as it feels like the right thing to do.
For example, the original plan with Iceland after reaching the play-offs in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup was for Hallgrímsson to be promoted from assistant to manager.
Instead, a compromise was reached and they shared duties as they reached Euro 2016. Hallgrímsson cites the Swede as “by far my biggest mentor” and accepts that “you need to probably know each other pretty well to be able to do this.”
He met O’Shea for the first time today and joint-managers was not something broached by the FAI in talks prior to him taking the job.
“No, that wasn’t discussed, probably later on in this, I would be open if that’s something but I don’t want to say too much, I just want to hear what he says. For me, that worked, but it needs to be two persons who really understand each other, because it has not worked in many cases, to have joint management.
“We just postponed the transition [at Iceland] because everybody liked what he (Largerback) was doing. We didn’t want to lose him and he really liked being in Iceland and wanted to stay. It was just a new scenario.”
Hallgrímsson finds himself in another one with Ireland now, but he has experience and the strength of his convictions to guide him through.
The 57-year-old says it would be “ideal” to introduce himself in person to players before the squad join up for the Nations League against England on 7 September, but he accepts that with time against him Zoom meetings will be required.
“Priority number one” is to finalise his coaching staff as he accepts that input from staff with previous knowledge of players will be required to pick his first squad.
Agents have already been in touch to make him aware of Irish-eligible players but Hallgrímsson’s initial focus is on getting “ready as quickly as possible for September.”
Evan Ferguson should be available after injury and provides a source of confidence.
“I’ve seen him play. We watch a lot of Premier League games so I’ve seen a lot of these players without looking at them specifically [for Ireland]. He’s one of those guys who has the quality to win games. If you have a close game, he is the individual you look at to spark and create something.
“Like you saw in the tournament (Premier League), he has scored a great goal from outside of the box even though the team doesn’t deserve to do it in a way.”
At his unveiling in Aviva Stadium last week Hallgrímsson cited the important work of Stephen Kenny in blooding so many younger internationals and he expanded further on that here.
“What surprises me, and has probably stopped surprising me now, is that the players who are shining, they are becoming younger and younger. That is a trend in football.
“If you watch the World Cup in Qatar, the players who took the limelight there were 20 or younger than 20. And they got the biggest contracts after the World Cup. It’s happening again, even younger now. It just shows how important youth development is. Everywhere.
“The best team is a mixture of experience and younger players. Normally, the young are more fearless and show their skills etc. Just look at Spain. England too. They had players who could win the game due to their lack of fear. To mix it is the best way because they need to rely on stability and guidance behind them from experienced players. Young players need to be at a certain quality.”
Hallgrímsson will be in Páirc Uí Choimh for the senior women’s team clash with France on Tuesday night while he was also at Tolka Park last Thursday to see Shelbourne in Europa Conference League qualifier action followed by Sligo Rovers’ 2-0 win over Bohemians 24 hours later in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
“It’s different to Iceland and Jamaica. Just competitive and I love the atmosphere. There’s passion in the stands. I would say it’s a game more suited to senior players because it’s tough and rough. It’s probably more difficult for young players to get into the starting line-up here.
“On the opposite side, these days it’s the young players who shine and they find it difficult to break into the Premier League. Everywhere you have positive and negative but there’s an especially good football culture here.”
He referenced his passion for coaching that was stirred in him at the age of 17 and has not diminished in 40 years. “I really love to be on the grass coaching. But I think I am also good at organising and at getting people to work together towards something.
“Some come in suits and don’t step on the grass. I think I am somewhere in between.
“I think it should always be about leaving your shirt in a better place, however you do it. Some people can give a little bit of this towards the project, some people can give a little bit of that.
“If we stay for one year, two years or 10 years, leave your shirt in a better place and leave the federation with more knowledge and the coaches with more knowledge, or just help them and give them something I know.
“It’s all about give and take but in the end, the shirt should be in a better place.”
That would certainly constitute success.
