Five things awaiting Heimir Hallgrímsson in his FAI in-tray

TO-DO LIST: New Ireland boss Heimir Hallgriímsson. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

After a nine-month wait for a manager, the newcomer has just seven weeks before his first game – and what a test it is.

England is a nation that brings a smile to Heimir Hallgrímsson’s face, the team his Iceland scalped at Euro 2016. 

Nostalgia will be irrelevant in the contest of the challenge facing him and here we outline five of the immediate tasks awaiting him in his in-tray as the Nations League series looms before next year’s World Cup qualifiers.

1: Select the correct staff:

It may have already occurred but the newcomer would be minded to tap into local knowledge when choosing his sidekicks.

When he took over the Jamaican team in 2022, Hallgrimsson enlisted the services of two gurus he was aware of from his background in northern Europe. 

Swedish coach John Wall was described as a stats expert, complete with his own technology company, while his compatriot Guomundur Hreidarsson was his long-standing goalkeeping coach at Iceland.

Caretaker boss John O’Shea indicated he was assured of a backroom role in the new set-up, while the likes of Brian Barry-Murphy, Paddy McCarthy and Glenn Whelan are emerging Irish coaches. 

The latter pair was part of the interim arrangement – as was the elder statesman Brian Kerr, who knew Hreidarsson from his time managing the neighbouring Faroe Islands.

2: Retain Séamus Coleman as player and captain:

That the Everton player returned to the fold from a long injury to participate in the friendlies suggested he’s not going anywhere but approaching his 36th birthday in October, nobody would blame Coleman for refining his workload.

Keeping a player of his stature and ability onside would mark a solid start for the new regime and an initial meeting to ascertain the defender’s intentions is expected. 

He will be 37 when the next major tournament, the 2026 World Cup, comes around and a unified commitment to target qualification is in everybody’s interests. 

The pair seemed to share practical instincts.

3: Settle on a style of play:

Through Stephen Kenny and one of his assistants who succeeded him, John O’Shea, Ireland were wedded to a 3-4-2-1 formation. 

That’s similar to what Hallgrímsson employed on occasion at Jamaica but it was the defensive structure he embedded during Iceland’s surge up the world rankings to 18th that he made his name.

Brief soundbites during his interviews pointed to him bringing Ireland “back to basics” and the abundance of centre-backs, as well as talented goalkeepers, offers the resources to be rigid.

He cannot magic up a creative midfielder, only encourage the playmakers to be more progressive in their passing. 

Will Smallbone’s ambitious side has yet to be unlocked, while he’ll be interested to see where U21 captain Joe Hodge starts the season. 

Ditto Andrew Moran, the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder whose season petered out following an initial burst on loan at Blackburn.

4: Maximise Evan Ferguson’s skillset:

Once he overcomes his ankle injury, Ferguson resumes his status as a generational talent. 

It’s widely established that the teenager is the most precocious striker talent Ireland have produced since Robbie Keane and the priority must be revolving the team around him.

His propensity to drop deep at Brighton is worth replicating but the role assigned to Ferguson has to focus on getting inside the box to finish chances. 

Efforts on target weren't Ireland’s friend during the four friendlies this year – bar his scuffed penalty against Belgium – underlining the importance of carrying a natural finisher in the right position.

5: Prioritise results:

The top job in Irish sport doesn’t rely on dishing out a tonne of debuts; rather deriving a winning formula with the tools available. 

That the 47-year-old did with Iceland, less so in Jamaica, and his third international job will be judged on whether he manages to lift Ireland from the dregs of 61st place in FIFA rankings into genuine qualification contenders. 

Granted, affording the underage game and League of Ireland sector the respect it deserves is fundamental but the results he oversees, through selection and tactical decisions, are the ultimate criteria by which his reign will be evaluated.