THEY ARE NOT quite at the stage of finishing each other’s sentences but, like any strong relationship, Heimir Hallgrimsson and John O’Shea were a united front.
The new Republic of Ireland manager and his assistant were side by side at Aviva Stadium as the 23-man squad was confirmed for the start of the Nations League next week.
As Hallgrimsson explained at a recent event for FAI season ticket holders, O’Shea and first-team coach Paddy McCarthy selected the players for the visits of England and Greece.
“Coming in on such short notice to a big football culture like Ireland is pretty tough and a little bit daunting,” Hallgrimsson said.
“I’m happy with what I’ve seen. Today, I’m a little bit more positive. Tomorrow, a little bit more negative. It’s just how it is when you don’t know it all.”
He speaks like a man who accepts he doesn’t have all the answers but trusts himself to quickly find solutions.
“If we are organised, if we are compact, and then we have players that can do the damage, that’s the perfect recipe,” he said.
The pair spoke about trust and connection and sharing the same football values.
At that fan event last week Hallgrimsson made headlines when he said the Ireland squad was a little bit too soft and needed a bastard to make it more to his liking.
“When I was talking about it before, it was about being more horrible in games,” O’Shea explained.
“Trying to get across the line for qualification. So it’s kind of a similar feeling, the thought process. It’s straightforward, you’re wanting to find a different way to do all you can to qualify. It’s as simple as that. You’re looking for every angle you can.
“You see the competition level when you’re picking a squad. You can tell now there’s more competition coming in to pick a squad. It’s not easy to get into.
“It’s just really important that we build a competitive spirit that can get you across in qualification for tournaments, winning Nations League, qualifiers, that sort of thing.”
Hallgrimsson took his cue to finish the point, clenching his right fist and punching his left palm to add the sound effect as he explained how everybody is playing for their place. “It’s not like ‘he is always number one’. I don’t think we have a guy that is always going to be there no matter what.”
He looked to O’Shea and O’Shea continued: “When the manager sees the players in the flesh, and gets to know the players, sees their personalities and what they’re like. That will be a key aspect when he sees them on the training pitch, what they’re doing, how they’re doing, the messages he wants to get across.”
Hallgrimsson nodded in agreement, stating again, as he did at his unveiling in the same room back in July, that he is not wedded to certain systems or formations but rather principles of play and the willingness of the players to adapt.
“The character is really important, how they conduct themselves in the set up and especially how they do in the games. At the moment, other things are more important than spending all of our time in build up [play]. For me, it’s about scoring a goal. If the build up helps with that then we will focus on that.”
Jayson Molumby returns after being ruled out with a foot injury since last December, while Josh Cullen is absent for the first time in four years, and Hallgrimsson stressed that the Burnley midfielder had pushed his body as much as he could but was still not fully capable of sprinting.
It would not have been “professional” to bring him over to Dublin, Hallgrimsson added, while newcomer Kasey McAteer from Leicester City is the only new face. Ipswich Town all of a sudden have a glut of Irish internationals in their ranks under Fermanagh native Kieran McKenna.
Dara O’Shea and Chiedozie Ogbene joined from Burnley and Luton Town, respectively, while Sammie Szmodics already scored his first Premier League goal in last weekend’s defeat to champions Manchester City.
“He’ll hopefully be an important player for us,” O’Shea said.
“The manager will soon see the type of personality and player he is in training but also around the place. He’s just infectious. He wants to do things right on and off the pitch, he wants to take advantage of the flourishing career he’s having at the minute.
“I think he’s going to be an important player for the team over the next few years. You can see already the confidence he’s bringing. Knowing Sammie, he’s obviously he got his goal against City but the clean strike of the finish he wouldn’t have been too happy, knowing how he likes to hit the bottom of the net, bottom corner. It was a brilliant start and hopefully it continues.”
Talk of Szmodics brought a flash of a smile from the manager.
“His directness is what really pleases me. He’s really direct, he’s unafraid going forward, taking players on, quick-thinking, speed in him and, like John said, a lot of confidence.”
Monday will be the first chance for the new set-up to work together on the training pitch. Players will arrive in dribs and drabs over the weekend as a new era begins.
There will be no gentle bedding in process. England will sharpen the minds of everyone, and Greece could possibly be vulnerable under new boss Ivan Jovanovic.
“Everybody has said that it’s like we’re playing one game, we’re only playing England. Everybody is saying we need to play good against England. I always say that there’s two games. We play Greece only three days later and that’s a game we should not forget and we need to focus on that,” Hallgrimsson said, before adding dryly. “So once we’ve beaten England, we cannot celebrate for three days and lose against Greece.”
O’Shea smiled and got the tone of the quip straight away.
