Hallgrimsson tells O’Shea that he wants ex-Man Utd ace on Ireland coaching staff

NEW Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has told John O’Shea he wants him as part of his coaching team to speed up the Boys in Green’s progress.

But he said he will start with the basics before he starts anything fancy tactically.  

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O’Shea was interim Ireland gaffer for the last four games and repeatedly said that he was keen for his next full-time post in football to be as a No. 1. 

But former Icelandic boss Hallgrimsson has already been in touch with him to ask him to stay on as his right-hand man. 

Hallgrimsson said: “I’m relying on past coaches, John O’Shea and more to assist. I called him yesterday and told him I’d really love to have him as a part of this journey.

“I really think in the context of him continuing with the team, if he is on board, we will probably move fast in what we want to achieve, and the same with the staff.”

FAI Director of Football Marc Canham added: “John and I have always had regular conversations all the way through the process since the first time we asked to be interim.

“In the last few weeks since the international games finished, we continued those conversations and explained what we were doing…and express that, from the association, that he was an important part of what we wanted to do moving forwards. 

“And more broadly we genuinely want to develop Irish coaches.”

Hallgrimsson hopes to finalise his backroom team in the coming days and envisages not many changes, and he acknowledged he has to quickly learn about the Ireland players.

He added: “The challenge is of course getting to know everything and everyone and getting to know their names, and you know what they can bring to the national team etc.

“So that is going to be a tough time for me as a coach.”

He has little time to get to know his staff and players with the England game on September 7 just eight weeks away. 

Hallgrimsson, who famously guided Iceland to victory over England at Euro 2016, expects Gareth Southgate’s team to win Euro 2024. 

But he also insisted that it is job now to make Ireland competitive to face them, and that starts by making the Boys in Green tough to beat. 

He continued: “That’s just our job, to face anyone we are drawn against or is in our group. I have said all the time that playing the best, and probably they will be European champions. 

“Playing the best will at least expose our weaknesses. It helps us to improve what we need to improve. 

“We will always have some answers, good or bad. I hope they will be good answers, but we will have a lot of answers after that game.

“In football in general you need basic, especially at international level. It’s a trick to be a national team coach, it’s totally different being a club coach and a national team coach. 

“Your time with the players is so limited, so you need to have the basics perfect before you build on something different. 

“If you get the basics, being organised, being compact, being a strong unit, that’s always the first thing you need as a national team. 

“Then you can build on progressively from that thing. That was kind of what I meant, not starting with the fancy stuff and forgetting the basics.”

ICE COOL

But he is confident that he can achieve great things with Ireland, having signed a contract for the Nations League and next year’s World Cup qualifiers. 

While he only decided to take the job last week after he resigned from Jamaica, it was the prospects in the Ireland team that convinced him it was the right post. 

Hallgrimsson added: “When you have some interest from different areas you of course think about the pros and cons. 

“In this case there were a lot of positives. Young players that have been given – what I think is really important – they have ben given time. 

“So they are young players with international experience. That’s the most exciting thing.

“The position on the FIFA ranking, there is potential to go higher and the future with young players, we can progress and develop and be a force to be reckoned with in the future. 

“What made my decision was the professionalism from the board. They showed me a big respect even though I knew that they might go for someone else. 

“I insisted that I wanted to finish the Nations League with Jamaica and then the Copa America (meaning he could not take the job until now). 

“They were so professional and that was the most appealing thing, working for these people. I hope that it’s going to be fruitful.”