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11th September 2024
11:32am BST
Will Smallbone said that he felt 'embarrassed' by the Man of the Match award he received after the Republic of Ireland's 2-0 loss to Greece in Dublin last night.
The Southampton midfielder was bizarrely booed by a faction of the crowd when his name was announced as man of the match and appeared emotional as he left the pitch after the final whistle.
New Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson has had a very disappointing start to his tenure. Last night's dismal defeat to Otto Rehhagel's Greek side at Aviva Stadium is the first time that the Boys in Green have lost four competitive games in a row.
Despite it being all square at half-time, Greece went into cruise control in the second half after they scored immediately after the break.
They cemented their win with about five minutes to go thanks to a strike from Christos Tzolis.
"I’m probably as embarrassed as anyone, receiving a man of the match award when we’ve lost a game," Smallbone said post-match.
"I’m not sure why it’s done, but it is and I can’t control it. It’s not my decision. But we understand the fans’ reaction and we are working as hard as we can to turn it around, and I believe we will.
Tonight's Sky Player of the Match is Will Smallbone 👏 pic.twitter.com/1jwe3mvSJn
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) September 10, 2024
He continued: "I don’t need to tell them to stick with us because they give us unwavering support every time we turn up to the Aviva. And in the away games, they are always loud, they are singing, they are fully supporting us. It hurts us every time that we can’t give them a result and something back for their unwavering support to us. But I believe that we will in the near future.
"I think whenever we concede a goal when you look at it and break it down, there is always something that you can do better. Obviously the first goal today, I haven’t seen it back but it looked like a really good finish. But from our point of view, he has had time to turn and take a touch and then finish. I’d be disappointed that we haven’t gotten out to block the shot," he added.
Hallgrímsson suggested that his players lacked confidence in his post-match press conference.
The Icelandic coach said: "It feels like the jersey is too heavy for some players. We need to change that."
