Heimir Hallgrimsson is clearly not wasting any time as he prepares to pick his first Ireland squad in just a week’s time.
During a Q&A session with Irish fans, the new Ireland manager was very open and candid about taking on this job, the sort of football he wants to play, what kind of players he is looking for, and what the fans can expect to see.
Here are five key takeaways that could excite Irish fans as they embark on a new era:
5. We’re going to be physical
“I think the first impression of the players is really good team players, really good characters, maybe a little bit too nice. Sometimes you need a bastard in your team. I’m looking for him. Maybe we can develop him.”
One of the standout quotes from Hallgrimsson was that he felt Ireland needed ‘a bastard in the team’, so someone who plays with a bit of an edge, can break up plays, and upset the opposition.
This tells us that the new manager values physicality, and isn’t afraid to lean on the darker arts when it comes to trying to win games.
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4. We’re going to be defensive
“For us, it was to be the best defensive team in the world. Focus on your strengths and try to win the games on your strengths. Don’t try to be good in all areas because probably, if you are an underdog team, you can’t be. If you are an underdog team you need to be pragmatic.”
Stephen Kenny tried to play a more expansive style of football with the international team, but it never really seemed to suit the make-up of Ireland.
Under Martin O’Neill, Mick McCarthy and Giovanni Trapattoni, Ireland were very defensive, well set-up, well organised, and very condensed.
When speaking about the success he had as Iceland manager, Hallgrimsson made it clear what his intentions were then, and what they are now.
3. The team won’t be built around individual brilliance
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“I think in many ways, Ireland is similar to Iceland in the sense that we don’t have many players playing at the highest level in the Champions League. So there is no high, high, high-profile player. It’s going to be down to the group, to the squad to win the games, not the individuals.”
Unlike Ireland teams in the past where there was maybe an emphasis to get Roy Keane on the ball as much as possible, or try and free up Robbie Keane up front so he can inflict some damage, there is no real standout individual in the current squad.
You could argue that Evan Ferguson is the brightest prospect that we have had in a long time, but he is still unproven at the highest level, and fans need to be patient with his development.
According to Hallgrimsson, the focus will be very much on the squad, rather than bringing out the best in an individual player.
2. Ireland will embody the ‘underdog’ tag
“In my opinion it is better, especially when you are an underdog team, to be really good at five things out of 10, rather than being semi good at 10.”
One thing Kenny tried to change, was the perception that Ireland went into games to simply not lose. The ex boss wanted to see his country play front-foot football, and try and actually control the game.
Although this was a welcome idea at the start, the results would suggest that it never really worked, and it looks like we are set to go back to playing like underdogs.
Hallgrimsson had no shame in admitting that, and underlined how it can be an advantage, and something that the team can harness in order to bring success.
1. Set-pieces are key
On his time as Iceland boss: We’re going to be the best set piece team in the world and we are going to have the best team spirit of all the teams. Every time we met we tried to improve these things. We analysed a lot of set pieces, of attacking actions from the opponents to make these superpowers even stronger, better.”
When you play defensive football and you’re usually the underdog, then the reality is that you won’t be in possession of the ball as often as you might like to be.
This limits your opportunity to attack, which means that when those chances do come, you have to take them.
Maximising the use of set-pieces is an incredibly effective way to do this because when the play is stopped, then it doesn’t really matter how much quality the opposition has, a dangerous ball into the box is always difficult to deal with against a physical team that feeds off these chances.
If things go according to plan, we could be seeing a lot more goals from corners and free kicks.
