Heimir Hallgrímsson brushes past England 'hype' to concentrate on Greece revenge mission

“It may be strange to say this, but Ireland lost two times against them in the last European qualifiers so we need to do better against them.”

Tue, 20 Aug, 2024 - 21:45

John Fallon

Greece – rather than the first game against England – is the priority for new Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson in the upcoming Uefa Nations League double-header.

The first competitive game between the neighbours since 1991, with former Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley in caretaker charge of the visitors, has consumed the discourse around the games at Lansdowne Road on September 7 and 10 respectively.

Yet the Icelander has cut through what he brands “hype” to concentrate on the second part of the window. Ireland have six games in a League B pool that also features Finland.

The Greeks will also have a new boss in former Panathinaikos boss Ivan Jovanović but Hallgrímsson has memories from the Gus Poyet era to erase.

“There is a lot of hype around the England game but, for me, the more important game is Greece,” said the 57-year-old before he helped make the FAI Cup Cup quarter-final draw on Tuesday.

“It may be strange to say this, but Ireland lost two times against them in the last European qualifiers so we need to do better against them.”

The thrill of stumbling across a football match while away on holiday

Asked how he’s settling in the job, five weeks on from his appointment, he said: “Slowly but steadily. Everybody has been really helpful.

“The weeks since I took over have been quite busy. There are a lot of things to get to know, all the players are spread over a lot of teams.

"There are usually one or two players maximum in each game so there are lots of games to watch. My priority is picking the squad for these games.”

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson with participants her skills during a visit to a FAI football camp at Verona FC in Blanchardstown, Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

As he promised, the newcomer has attended League of Ireland matches, his arrival coinciding with the Irish representatives in European club competitions kicking off.

Shamrock Rovers are guaranteed a place in the Conference League group stages, with St Patrick’s Athletic one step away from joining them over the next nine days.

“I’ve seen too few, and plan to see more,” said Hallgrímsson about his local presence. “The standout has been the great atmosphere.

“I’ve been watching the teams, especially in the European games and it might even change the culture of Irish football by qualifying for the group stages.”