Ireland's head coach, Hemir Hallgrimsson, has expressed hope that the current Irish squad will produce a gamechanger for the upcoming matches against Greece and England this month.
A host of familiar faces were called up to the Icelander's first Ireland squad today, but Leicester City winger Kasey McAteer received his first Ireland call-up after obtaining international clearance and completing his paperwork this week.
Notable names like Seamus Coleman and striker Evan Ferguson are back in the squad after missing previous Ireland games. Cardiff City strikers Callum Robinson, Alan Browne, and Jayson Molumby are also returning to the Ireland fold.
Last week, Hallgrimsson mentioned during a fan forum that he wanted the Republic of Ireland team to become less "nice" ahead of their Nations League campaign, and he expressed a desire for a "b******d" to emerge in the near future.
The new Ireland boss explained today that his initial comment was taken out of context, adding that he wanted players who would make the opposition uncomfortable when playing the Boys in Green and added that he meant he wanted a "gamechanger."
"It was taken a little bit out of context," said Hallgrimsson to RTE. "But I still like the sentiment.
"We have so many players at a similar level; all of them have nice characters, etc. But sometimes, you want players on the pitch who 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 who are similar, whether it is the midfielders or the centre-backs.
"We are waiting for someone to be a little bit different and to be a gamechanger for us, so let’s see in this camp if someone shows up."
Both Heimir Hallgrímsson & John O'Shea spoke to Ann-Marie Keegan at the Aviva following today's squad announcement for the Nations League games against England & Greece.
The duo discussed picking the squad, Evan Ferguson's fitness, and facing England.#COYBIG | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/bQLXwlqP5X— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 29, 2024
Hallgrimsson has entrusted both Paddy McCarthy and John O'Shea with selecting the squad for the games against England and Greece next month.
The relationship between the manager and coaching staff is strong, according to the 57-year-old.
"We just need to start working together to find out what is the best way to work," Hallgrimsson added.
"But in my opinion, personalities click, and there is good trust between us. I think we can share more or less everything."
Adding further, Hallgrimsson admitted that the role of "good cop, bad cop" was important in evolving the new relationship on the sidelines.
"As I said before, in the beginning, John and Paddy will have more to say, knowing the players, knowing their characters, etc., so they will be guiding me initially. But that is good, as they both have experience playing with and coaching some of them.
"How do 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."
Ireland will begin their campaign on September 7 against England in a League B, Group B2 match. Following this, on September 10, they will take on Greece. The team will then travel to Finland for their next fixture on October 10. Just three days later, on October 13, Ireland will face Greece again, this time away.
Their penultimate match will be on November 14, when they host Finland. Finally, Ireland will conclude their group stage on November 17 with a match against England.
Republic of Ireland Squad: England & Greece
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O'Leary (Bristol City).Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O'Brien (Everton), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O'Dowda (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).
Midfielders: Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Browne (Sunderland), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City).
Attackers: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Callum Robinson (Cardiff City), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).
UEFA Nations League: Fixtures
07/09: Ireland vs. England, Aviva Stadium, 5pm
10/09: Ireland vs. Greece, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm
