Toughness can help Ireland ‘shine’ says Heimir Hallgrimsson

By Damian Spellman, PA, Athens

Heimir Hallgrimsson has made it his mission to bring out the “warriors” within his Ireland squad.

The 57-year took the job with an image of the stereotypical Irish player in his head, one who fights for every ball and is difficult to play against, and he is convinced he can coax that out of the men he currently has available.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League B2 clash with Greece in Athens, Hallgrimsson said he wanted opposition teams to “hate” playing against Ireland.

Asked if that is how he had viewed previous Irish teams, he said: “It was always in the memory, I didn’t see every Irish game in the past, but that’s how I see this nation, tough people, hard-working, really honest, willing to take the duel and go into the battle.

 

“That was my presumption coming in, that the Irish team was like that. Getting to know them as characters, there are a lot of fighters, we just need to bring that confidence back so that it will shine through every game and every duel we have on the pitch, to get this mentality to shine.”

Midfielder Josh Cullen is relishing the challenge of making life “horrible” for the players he comes up against.

Cullen said: “It’s something we need to develop. We need to make sure that every game we go into is horrible for our opposition.

“It’s something the manager has made clear that he wants us to be and it’s down to us as players to carry that out on the pitch.”

Hallgrimsson’s stated intention is to take Ireland to the 2026 World Cup finals having helped his native country make it to Euro 2016, where they famously beat England on their way to the quarter-finals.

Former Coventry and Cardiff midfielder Aron Gunnarsson, currently playing his football in Qatar with Al-Arabi, was a key member of that side and he is the type of character the Ireland head coach wants to find within the ranks.

He said: “I took Aron Gunnarsson, the captain of Iceland to Qatar. He is still in Qatar. He is the type of guy who steps up in all situations, a warrior.

“I would always use him as a role model, a player who was always important to the team, maybe not the best footballer, but he was always the most important to the team.

“I am looking for characters like that. Technical ability as well, but someone who steps up in times of trouble. You can look at him and he will rise and say, ‘Give it to me, I am not afraid.’

“In hard times, you need guys like this. We have a lot of those guys, we just need to bring their confidence up.”