Hallgrímsson seeing way forward with expanded options as Ireland prepare for Canada friendly
LOOKING FORWARD: Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson is exploring his player options for the future of Irish international football. Picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Place Nadia Comaneci is a square of stainless steel and concrete with the Olympic rings hanging overhead which celebrates the memory of the 1976 Montreal Games.
In block capitals on plaques around it are the names of every athlete who left this city with an Olympic medal. The engravers were never troubled to carve out the letters that make up Ireland when doing their work. This summer is the 50th anniversary of an Olympics where Ireland came, saw and didn’t leave much of an impression, Eamonn Coghlan getting close before settling for that all-too-familiar fourth.
Next week Canada will kick off its biggest sporting summer since 1976, a first men’s World Cup to visit these shores. Ireland’s part in the proceedings is, alas, even more fleeting. Heimir Hallgrimsson and his most unorthodox squad of 24 men are here, apparently, to help Jesse Marsch’s co-hosts celebrate their official send-off.
The Ireland manager surely doesn’t see it that way. While he and his players still carry the hurt from not punching their ticket to this major tournament, he is intent on moving forward — with expanded options.
Hallgrimsson watched his 24-strong travelling panel get through some final workouts at Stade Saputo on Thursday morning and amid the sea of fresh faces he saw the way forward. This has been a month where the trusty laptop has had the “add cell” option clicked plenty of times. His database of players is deeper than ever and it’s something he’s rightly proud of.
“If you take the numbers, I think we had 23 players from our regular squad not being able to come, injuries or other reasons," said Hallgrimsson of a May and June which featured the Murcia camp and win over Granada before regrouping in Dublin for last week’s win over Qatar and now this trans-Atlantic dash.
"So 23 players. We had 21 players in Spain and we have 27 in this. Only two players have been in both camps — Chieo [Ogbene] and James Abankwah. So that’s close to 70 players. That’s our pool at the moment. That is good for us, to have questions answered.
“We have looked at now 70 players and no matter what the answer is — is he ready now? Do we have to wait one or two years? Just not ready? Or he just grabs an opportunity and shines, he is in the next squad — that is the beauty of having a camp like this.”
The fate of the home and away games with Israel may be up in the air but Hallgrimsson knows that either way meaningful games will arrive with the autumn. In winger Jaden Umeh, Mason Melia and a handful of other young stars here he may have laid his hand on talents who can contribute as soon as then. He appears to be hugely impressed with Hibs striker Owen Elding.
He will, of course, lean on his experienced defence in particular for the Friday night clash, which kicks off at 7.30pm locally and 12.30am back home. Troy Parrott’s remarkable campaign will round off with a 51st game. A 33rd goal could well come his way given Canada’s risky high line in defence. Nonetheless, just by the sheer weight (or lack thereof) of numbers there will be a handful of debuts and more than a few League of Ireland talents will become internationals.
“We have so many now in the squad so it’s very likely that some of them will feature,” added Hallgrimsson, who could find lots of room for Dawson Devoy. “We’re not going to play someone just to play them. It’s going to be the ones that we think deserve to play, who have shown in the sessions that they are ready.”
While Hallgrimsson and O’Brien had enjoyed a casual chat with just five Irish journalists in the media suite in the morning, Marsch was faced with a throng of almost 60 reporters by the time he came in mid-afternoon. The Canadian public are belatedly but absolutely ticking up the World Cup hype here.
Marsch had said last month that he was hopeful Ireland would provide as strong a test as possible. Asked if he was disappointed with the squad which has actually pitched up here he pointed to the hunger of youth.
“The pros are [Ireland’s] young kids should bring it, right?” said the former Leeds United boss, who is nursing many of his leading man back from long-term injuries before their tournament opener next Friday.
“They should want to compete and want to play. It's a team that doesn't have anything to hold back because they know they're not playing in the World Cup, so we expect them to come and really go after the game, and then it's our job to make sure we put the game on our terms.”
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