Heimir Hallgrimsson gets down to work with Ireland players ahead of England showdown
START OF TERM: Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson with Evan Ferguson and Kasey McAteer, right at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown on Monday. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
A new era for Irish football began on Monday morning when Heimir Hallgrimsson met his players and how he fares on Saturday may hinge on the fitness of his youngest.
Evan Ferguson’s absence from the Brighton and Hove Albion squad for Saturday’s draw at Arsenal raised concerns about his availability but he reported for duty and partook in the first training session of the week.
Although the 19-year-old last played in March, having undergone ankle surgery since, the striker is in line for his comeback.
He’s the only teen in the squad, the youngest by three years to 22-year-old Andrew Omobamidele and yet the hopes of a nation – and new manager – rest on his shoulders, or more specifically his underused feet.
That microscope focuses closer as Hallgrimsson’s reign kicks off with the visit of England in the opening Uefa Nations League B fixture (5pm).
Lansdowne Road will be the venue again on Tuesday for the match against Greece, the first of monthly double-headers until the campaign concludes at Wembley on November 17.
That Ferguson, standing on a training pitch alongside the new manager, appeared in the photographs emerging from the training ground generated a ripple of excitement in the run-up to what’s been framed as a mismatch.
It’s difficult to fathom how the forward – who exactly a year ago bagged his first Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle United – could be parachuted straight into the derby for his official comeback.
He was on the Brighton bench for last week’s Carabao Cup tie against Crawley, only to be left idle while Portsmouth bound loanee Mark O’Mahony was unleashed from the bench to score his first goal.
New Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler, ripping up English football at the age of 31, is apparently onside with Ferguson’s recovery schedule, yet it will only be known closer to the game what agreement was hatched regarding gametime.
Adam Idah is the alternative sole striker should, as expected, the 3-4-2-1 formation be sustained and it may be the second half that the full house witness their great hope of Irish football uncoiled to expose Harry Maguire’s weaknesses.
Hallgrimsson has taken a hands-off approach since being appointed on July 15, delegating the scouting and squad selection duties to his assistant John O’Shea.
He’d taken caretaker charge for four friendlies in March and June after the FAI released Stephen Kenny last November and missed two self-declared deadlines for appointing his successor.
The Icelander had flagged the importance of developing a team spirit and his principles of play from the training pitch.
Monday morning’s outing at FAI HQ in Abbotstown was the first for himself and new goalkeeping coach Gudmundur Hreidarsson to get their message across, ably assisted by O’Shea and Crystal Palace mentor Paddy McCarthy. All 23 players participated in the session.
For all the attention on hosting England, ranked fourth in the world and under the caretaker charge of ex-Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley, Hallgrimsson has weighed superior importance on the Greece match in terms of prospects in a four-nation pool completed by Finland.
England are hot favourites to gain promotion back to League A by topping the group and the newcomer’s objective is avoiding relegation to League C. For the first time too, reportedly, placings in the Nations League will influence seeding in the World Cup draw, due to be held in December.
There were no fresh injury reports from the weekend, albeit the Irish Premier League activity was again limited.
Dara O’Shea was kept on the bench but his fellow Ipswich Town recruit Chiedozie Ogbene made his debut by playing 88 minutes of the 1-1 draw against Fulham. Sammie Szmodics was withdrawn seven minutes earlier.
Robbie Brady allayed any fears about his fitness by returning for Preston North End. He seems to be a shoo-in to retain the left wing-back berth he occupied during the O’Shea interregnum period.
Another set-piece specialist is Will Smallbone. The Southampton playmaker was the only recognised central midfielder in the squad to feature in a top-flight game over the weekend, although he was hauled off at half-time of a mauling by Brentford.
However, two of the contenders to partner him against Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo, Alan Browne and Jayson Molumby, both bagged Championship goals, for Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion respectively.
Given Ireland’s two goals against the top three nations in the Euro qualifiers last year were sourced from a penalty and corner and three blanks were fired in O’Shea four-match tenancy, how Hallgrimsson could do with artillery from midfield, rather than rely on a teen tiptoeing back to match sharpness.
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