Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson: 'We can be bad cop, bad cop, or good cop, good cop'      

The Icelander named his first squad ahead of a Nations League double header.

DOUBLE ACT: Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and assistant coach John O'Shea at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Heimir Hallgrimsson insists he has no problem being the bad cop in his partnership with John O’Shea after the pair presented the first squad of his tenure together.

The new Ireland boss broke from predecessor’s tradition by announcing a smaller squad of 23 players for the opening games – the Nations League visits of England and Greece on September 7 and 10.

His late arrival into the job in mid-July restricted lead time for the first of three double-headers until November, prompting him to opt for continuity of personnel.

That entailed delegating the selection duties for this panel to O’Shea, who’d assumed caretaker charge for the four friendlies this year in March and June.

O’Shea insisted he didn’t need persuading from the newcomer to revert to his original role of sidekick under Stephen Kenny. Moreover, he hasn’t received – not wanted – guarantees from the FAI about a succession plan whenever the Icelander’s stint departs.

He’s contracted for this campaign and next year’s World Cup qualifying series – the draw for which takes place in December.

“I don’t mind being the bad cop,” said the former Iceland and Jamaica boss when asked about the dynamics between the pair, aided by Crystal Palace coach Paddy McCarthy.

“We need to start work together to find out the best way to work. There is good trust between us.

“Paddy and John will probably be guiding me at the beginning because they have experience of playing with them and coaching.

“The benefits of them staying on are more for the federation. We need to evolve our relationship.” 

 Ireland centurion O’Shea is content to lend a helping hand, particularly as the newcomer immersing himself in the Irish system.

“I knew what was going on in the background, important to assess everything,” he said about being approached to stick around.

“It’s straightforward for me, in football don’t look too far ahead. It’s full focus on England and Greece but also the campaign to come. We’ve the big World Cup draw coming up in a few months.

“I’m always here to support the main man. This is a good solid group and I can’t wait for the manager to see them and get to know them. Hopefully myself and Paddy can accelerate that.” It will be helped if a fully-fit Evan Ferguson is available to lead the line for the visit of the successive European Championship runners-ups on Saturday week – the first competitive men’s meeting between the nations since 1993.

The teen sensation just returned from a five-month layoff but hasn’t featured for Brighton and Hove Albion.

“He has some qualities that are good to have,” said Hallgrimsson. “We’ll see how fit he is in the five days of training. There’s no objection from the club to selecting him. Hopefully he’s fitter than people can expect.” ends