Heimir Hallgrimsson is looking for a 'gamechanger' to emerge in his Ireland team as the new manager takes the team into the upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.
The Icelandic coach was in Dublin to announce his first squad for the upcoming double-header against England and Greece at the Aviva Stadium, and while there were no real surprises in the 23-man selection, there was a first call-up for Leicester City’s Kasey McAteer.
Otherwise, it is very much normal service resumed with 13 of the 23 playing in the Premier League, with three more in top flight leagues elsewhere.
The remaining seven were plucked from the Championship, including the return of Jasyon Molumby and Callum Robinson, while Josh Cullen’s absence is the main change from recent squads.
The Burnley man is ruled out of his first international window since 2020 having missed his club game last weekend and not be fit enough to feature in the two Ireland games.
Shane Duffy, Michael Obafemi and Jamie McGrath are other squad regulars who have missed out, with the new manager keen to create real competition for places.
As for the gamechanger, the reticent Hallgrimsson was not specifying whether he was referring to a goalscoring centre-forward, a playmaking number 10, a commanding and influencing central defender, or even the ‘out of context’ b*****d in the middle of the park.
"It was taken a little bit out of context," said Hallgrimsson, regarding the previous profanity. "But I still like the sentiment.
"We have so many players at the similar level, all of them have nice characters etc. But sometimes you want players on the pitch that will make the opponents feel uncomfortable, and that is what I meant.
"But it is more the fact that I think we have a lot of players that are similar, whether it is the midfielders, whether it is the centre-backs.
"We are waiting for someone to be a little bit different and can be a gamechanger for us, so let’s see in this camp if someone shows up."
As for those who did make the grade for the exciting home clash against England, followed by another game against the Greeks – who beat Ireland twice in the Euro 2024 qualifiers – the new manager admitted that he relied on the knowledge of his backroom team of John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy to help finalise the 23.
Hallgrimsson said that he would keep things simple at the start and use his first camp to get to know the players, their characters and their application throughout camp.
"First and foremost, I looked at players who had been in squad for the last couple of games. I was looking at those players and asking about individuals," explained Hallgrimsson.
"In the beginning, John and Paddy will have more to say, knowing the players, knowing their characters etc, so they will be guiding me in the beginning.
"I’ve been trying to look at as many players as possible. In-depth knowledge is probably not enough for me. This is more based on knowledge of John and Paddy.
"This camp I have chance to get to know them personally and after then I go to watch them live and see more of the players. At this stage I’m not going to say I know it all. I need the help of those two guys to expedite what we can do. Probably more them than me in this selection. After, I will catch up.
"I said before it was really important to have them in the coaching staff for myself, but the benefits are more for the national team and the federation having them staying on."
Halgrimsson is hopeful that he will get to watch Evan Ferguson up close and personal throughout the international window, as the young striker has been included in the squad despite lacking competitive action at the start of the season.
And while Ferguson was an unused substitute in Brighton’s midweek Carabao Cup victory, his involvement was enough to justify bringing him into the Ireland set-up for the two games, and with the backing of his club.
"He has some quality that’s good to have," said Hallgrimsson. "We’ll see in the five days in training how fit he is. He’s fit enough to be in the squad for Brighton, no objections from the club that we selected him.
"Hopefully he’s fitter than everybody thinks. We’ll see in training."
And as for the rest of the squad arriving into Dublin for their first meeting with the new manager, Hallgrimsson emphasised that he would not rush into things with his new charges, and that changes would be introduced slowly.
One of the main difficulties of international management, added the new coach, stressing the fact that there would just a handful of training sessions with the squad ahead of his first competitive fixture, however, he added that it was a good time to start, with three consecutive windows to come in September, October and November.
The manager was also adamant that there was a core of players within the squad that he believes can help create the style and approach of play that he is looking to bring into the national team.
"I have that in my mind, of course," said Hallgrimsson, when asked did he identify a potential spine of his starting XI.
"Let’s see how they do in training, their character etc. They are players past coaches have selected and trusted so why shouldn’t I?
"I have philosophy of how national teams should play. I have my philosophy on what it possible to do.
"It’s such a difference having a club compared to national team. You don’t have much time. You need to keep things simple. You need to have continuity. You don’t have a pre-season, don’t have them all day every day, can’t train two times a day.
"At this time, we probably have three real training sessions. How much can you influence if you try to over-do things? Probably you would fail.
"So start slowly, to put some changes in, and then build on that.
"I’m lucky we have games in September, October and November so players won’t be away for five to six months and then come back. They will at least know what happened three weeks ago. That’s a good time to start so you can build hopefully, little by little."
And as for his relationship with assistant John O’Shea, who has been in charge of the side for the last four games; Hallgrimsson said that he feels that a very trusting relationship is emerging, and it will become more evident over the coming months.
"We just need to start working together to find out what is the best way to work," said Hallgrimsson, when asked would it be a good cop, bad cop approach.
"But in my opinion, personalities click, and there is a good trust between us and I think we can share more or less everything.
"How we do it? I think we can be a bad cop, bad cop, or good cop good cop, we just need to evolve our relationship a bit better before saying."
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