YOU’D HAVE NEVER guessed that Heimir Hallgrímsson was ill with a fever and had to isolate himself from his players in the build up to Sunday’s Nations League defeat against Greece.
The Republic of Ireland of manager was an energetic figure on the touchline, although frustration was clearly fuelling him. His body seemed to move up and down like an accordion, springing forward and then marching from side to side roaring different instructions to try and get his message across.
When he did stand still, his hands would be on his hips or he’d lean forward almost ready to launch himself into another frantic attempt to make a point.
For example, Hallgrímsson had actually wanted Troy Parrott to be an out and out partner with Evan Ferguson in a 4-4-2, before the performance level of Greece made him tweak his plans early on. Their ability to move the ball so quickly and with accuracy from right to left meant it was felt the best way to combat this would be to drop one of them into a deeper position, especially as Ireland were trying to compensate for how sharply the home side were also overloading the franks.
This tweak in formation was made during that first half after the home side had become so dominant they managed 10 shots by the 20th minute.
That they had just three more before interval showed the changeh made a difference. “He knows our strengths and he has kind of simplified our game into a game that we need to get the ball in the opposition half and that’s where we can do our damage,” Dara O’Shea said.
“We’ve got some great attacking players who are playing at high levels in the UK and abroad and we want to give them the ball and let them do their thing. Obviously, as a nation, we’re a hard working nation and he’s trying to keep that going, drilling it into us and, you know, the way he wants us to play is different to the way we’ve played in the last couple of years.
“You’re going to say ‘it’s going to take time’ but we need to get results soon and the Helsinki one was a good result and we were hoping we were going to back it up.”
A familiar failing was their downfall once again, conceding three minutes into the second half when Liam Scales deflected Anastasios Bakasetas’ shot from outside the box as the defender slid in with a tackle.
Hallgrímsson feels his players are improving “tactically” and becoming more in tune with his methods, even if they are being punished for the chances they are giving up.
He joked in the dressing room last night about contacting FIFA to provide help with his team’s woes.
“We need to find that within ourselves, what are we doing differently, what each and every one of us is doing differently when we are down. We need to fight to get back in the game. Why can’t we just start the game with that mentality? So I said, maybe as a joke, maybe we should call FIFA and start playing the second half first, and the first half second,” Hallgrímsson said.
“It’s something psychological for sure. I’ve talked a lot about confidence. And I think once we have spells in games like now I think the confidence must grow when we show them the good things. And, of course, the bad things we need to correct.
“But the good things from this game, and to stay in the game when the opponent has the upper hand is also something that in football, you need to have that quality, even though the opponent is better, to stay in the game, defend.
“There was big heart, big character in this game as well, throwing themselves at shots and then growing as the game went. Even though (they were) tired, they pushed themselves to the limits in the end. It’s just nice to see the character growing in this team.”
Caoimhín Kelleher’s mistake for Greece’s second goal will be another test of his own resolve, and Hallgrímsson’s attitude is that as the errors that have occurred were all down to one man than the answer would be fare simpler.
“I think once we improve collectively, the individual mistakes will cost us less. But when we are collectively maybe not perfect, then individual mistakes cost us. I think that is maybe the political answer for this.
“If it was the same player doing all the mistakes, then it would be the player that you would change. But it’s not, it’s moments in games that we cannot switch off. We need to be really focused and disciplined all the time.”
That will be under the microscope next month when Finland come to Dublin. Avoiding defeat is priority number one to ensure Ireland end up in a relegation play-off next March with a runner-up from one of the League C groups.
But if more errors prove costly than the focus will shift once again.
“We’ve only won one [game] but that is the aim now, stay in this group, to win our remaining games, it’s as simple as that, it’s not just to avoid relegation,” O’Shea said.
Simply avoiding relegation is no longer the minimum requirement, as the players must also do so in a way that shows those ‘psychological’ issues can be eradicated, especially as we enter the final period of Hallgrímsson’s experimental phase before sharpening the focus for next year’s World Cup qualifying.
