'I would be contradicting myself' - Hallgrímsson denies encouraging players to leave LOI

Ireland's manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. Pic: Ryan Byrne

Heimir Hallgrímsson has denied that he’s encouraged players to leave the League of Ireland to push their international prospects.

Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley accused the Ireland manager of being disrespectful for the comments made last December after he’d watched the Hoops march on the Uefa Conference League.

“We have two players from Shamrock Rovers in our preliminary squad for the upcoming Bulgaria games so I would be contradicting myself by saying you have to be somewhere else,” the Icelander said on tonight’s Late Late Show appearance.

“The League of Ireland is drastically improving. What Shamrock Rovers did created positive spiral. It gets interest. Players and coaches will get interest.

“Of course, we have to improve and through Brexit more players will stay and players will get their first caps.” 

Hallgrímsson was quoted in December as saying: “(It would be) easier to pick them if they are playing regularly before the national team comes together, but I’m pretty sure a lot of teams in Europe are watching them, ‘who are these guys’ going this far, doing this good in the tournament’.

“So probably there is a lot of scouting on those players at the moment so hopefully they will get career change from this success.”