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8th September 2024
11:01am BST
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson gave some very honest reflection to reporters following his team's 2-0 defeat at home to England in his first game in charge.
The former Iceland and Jamaica boss felt that Lee Carsley's England side exposed weaknesses and a lack of confidence in his team, and admitted that he is still leaning heavily on the input of assistants John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy after almost two months in charge.
The Boys in Green conceded after just eleven minutes when former Ireland international Declan Rice slotted the ball past Caoimhin Kelleher with ease following an impressive long ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Three Lions doubled their lead after 26 minutes when another former green-wearing member of the England team hit the back of the net. Unlike Rice, Manchester City winger Jack Grealish chose to celebrate in front of the fans who once chanted his name.
"Me and Dec have nothing bad to say.. I've got a lot of Irish in my family so there's no bad blood" 🗣️@JackGrealish & @_DeclanRice speaking to @GabrielClarke05 after #IREENG pic.twitter.com/om4ZPX9VxQ
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 7, 2024
It was less about poor performance and more to do with being outclassed by a far superior opposition for the new-look Republic of Ireland.
A calm and composed-looking Hallgrímsson was quick to point out the positives in his post-match press conference.
"We have to admit that we were second best in this game by far," he said.
"First and foremost, I think it’s confidence in decision-making and initiative that was the biggest difference
"They exposed our weaknesses. It was a lot of things. We can use a lot from this game. We can improve step by step. We were too open [for Rice’s breakthrough goal] — a pass through the heart of the team should never happen at any level of football.
"I’m learning as we go," continued Hallgrimsson. "Hopefully, I will have more authority when time goes on. We are all in it together and for sure I need a lot of help in the first one or two camps, not knowing the characters of the players. I really like the staff, John and Paddy [McCarthy] have been fantastic, a big support.
"When you come to a new culture, you cannot think you can change everyone - in my case to an Icelandic. You have to adapt to the players, the culture, and what they have been doing and using what is good," he added.
"When you come into an environment and start to change things because you like it in a certain way, you can’t do that. You have to first see what is good and what is bad before you change it. My learning is now to see what is good, what we can change, I would say 95% of what I have seen here is quality."
On the plus-side for Ireland, Ipswich Town's Chiedozie Ogbene looked sharp in midfield and earned Sky's Player of the Match award, and new recruit Kasey McAteer came on for the final 10 minutes to make his debut in green.
The appearance of Evan Ferguson off the bench in the 82nd minute appeared to lift spirits in the green sections of the crowd.
Ireland fans will be hoping to see more of their talisman as he fights to get back from injury ahead of Tuesday evening's game against Greece in Dublin.
