FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham has claimed that the organisation believes Heimir Hallgrímsson is a good fit for Irish football.
The former Jamaica coach was announced as Ireland's newest manager in July, after a long process to find Stephen Kenny's successor came to an end.
Ireland have now played two games under Hallgrímsson, against Greece and England, both ending in 2-0 defeats.
It appears that not much has changed, despite there being a new man in charge of the Boys in Green, but Canham, a leading figure in appointing Hallgrímsson, believes patience is needed and that Hallgrímsson is the right choice going forward.
"We appointed Heimir for the Nations League and World Cup, so it's very early days in terms of those first two performances," Canham told RTÉ Sport this week.
"The beauty of football is there are always a few games around the corner, so we have games coming up.
"We hope to see positive progress in the development of the team and, ultimately, start to pick up results.
"That is important for Irish football, for the fans and public, who want to see, as much as we do, a successful Irish team playing here at the Aviva Stadium and in major tournaments.
"You always have to balance between the short-term and long-term. As I've said before, we believe Heimir is a really good fit for Irish football to move up the rankings, which is really important in terms of qualification. We believe he can take us forward over the next couple of years and hopefully even further beyond that."
🗣️ 'Over the course of the next two windows, you'll start to see some changes...'
Marc Canham feels there is a lot to come from Heimir Hallgrimsson's Ireland team in the next international window. | 🇮🇪
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Off The Ball Football w/ @WilliamHillIre. pic.twitter.com/BldMd84tEY— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 26, 2024
In football, results are the most valuable currency, and when it comes to Ireland, they can't seem to catch a break. It's even bleaker when you see the likes of England producing the talent they do. The most passionate Irish fans wouldn't be wrong for thinking there is no hope for Irish football.
However, Canham believes that if Irish football is to be completely transformed, patience is needed. He believes that emulating what England has done and replicating it in Ireland will take time.
To try and solve these issues, the FAI recently created a new project called the Football Pathways Plan, a 12-year strategy to improve the game of football in Ireland so that Ireland can catch up to other nations like England, France, and others.
Canham highlighted England's dreadful 2008 campaign, where they failed to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren. Since then, they have transformed their football structure and reached more major finals than they had since 1966, serving as inspiration for the plan.
"There was big change for England when they didn't qualify for Euro 2008, and big reforms to the way players were developed and coached. Seven of their starting XI that played at the Aviva Stadium were seven or eight at that time, and three more who weren't in the squad, like Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Jude Bellingham, were seven, eight, and 10," added Canham.
"What you saw on the pitch a few weeks ago was years and years of development.
"While we absolutely want short-term success, and the fans really want that, we also know it takes time to achieve that success and get the quality of players coming through. That is what the pathways plan aims to do."
