NOT being able to win has unfortunately become a common feature for Ireland managers in recent years.
And Heimir Hallgrimsson believes that can apply off the pitch as well as on it.
The Icelander yesterday moved to defuse a row sparked by him expressing his wish that Shamrock Rovers players could get ‘career change’ from their European run.
It was escalated by Hoops boss Stephen Bradley who suggested the Ireland boss had said players had to leave the country to get picked.
Hallgrimsson apologised if he had conveyed that meaning and said it had not been his intention but, of course, there were no home-based players in his squad of 23.
That would likely have been the case irrespective of who was in the position.
But in a high-profile role such as his the optics are important.
And the sight of him in Montrose for The Late Late Show last Friday night rather than say, Tallaght where Rovers were hosting St Patrick’s Athletic, did not go down well in some circles.
It is grist to the mill for those, such as Bradley, who say there is a disconnect between the League of Ireland and national team and Hallgrimsson admitted he has picked up on it.
But he suggested there is an element of him being damned no matter what he does.
Hallgrimsson said: “That’s the life of a national team coach. When I am here, why am I not in England watching players in England?
“When I am in England, why am I not in the office? When I’m doing some PR or something, I think it’s for us all, for national team coaches to do interviews and I think that’s positive.
“In my job you can’t win them all. You’ll have your opinion and he will have his opinion and they don’t match.
“You always have to make decisions on a daily basis on whether you should be in England or Ireland watching games.
“You cannot be afraid to do something or say something or step on someone’s toes because criticism is everywhere.”
But he accepted he should be a visible presence at League of Ireland grounds. He said: “I should do that but we will do it in blocs.
“Now I should focus on the players in our squad for Bulgaria. I see it in blocs.
“There are no League of Ireland matches in December and January so we do something different these two months.
“In March we focus on the players. John O’Shea went to watch a Shamrock Rovers game a week ago when he was here.
“The technology we have makes life easy. I know for some it is impressive to be at the game but we might see more. The decisions we take come from a good place.
“We are not trying to exclude someone or something.”
BUILDING BRIDGES
And he is keen to establish a relationship with Bradley and Shelbourne’s Damien Duff, whose back catalogue includes razing the FAI’s HQ to the ground and sacking 90 per cent of its workforce, comments for which he apologised.
Hallgrimsson said: “I don’t want any issues.
“I think we can help and support each other. If there is an issue, let’s sit down and solve them. We took this week to go north west and meet the representatives of clubs, coaches and players of Sligo Rovers and Finn Harps.
“I can’t do everything at the same time. I will not fix what is wrong with Irish football but I will definitely try.
“I have spoken to Damien and I would like to sit down with him for a coffee. I will do that.
“But it is not just me talking to them, they can talk to me, it works both ways.
“I would like things to be better than they are because, as I said, we are in the same boat. This is what I am planning to do.
“After this we will have time as the next camp we have will be in the summer.
“Hopefully we can sit down for a coffee or a pint and just speak. We are all trying to do the same thing, improve football in Ireland.”
HOME RENOVATIONS
There is something he would like to do to bridge the gap between the League of Ireland and the national team.
He said: “I wanted to do a January camp using League of Ireland players and calling in players not playing regularly at their clubs — maybe academy and high-profile players. It would be brilliant.
“These camps in Jamaica and Iceland gave us one or two players for the first-team squad. Everything costs money and we need to be careful here about that.
“That is one thing that I suggest we would do, something more on that basis.
“Even though the League of Ireland is a summer league, its negatives have positives and we need to use this.
“We have a lot of players who stop playing in November, so going in during December or January would be perfect.”
But, apart from the FAI not having the finances to fund it, it is hard to imagine that club managers would be receptive to Hallgrimsson taking their players outside an international window and bang in the middle of their pre-season preparations.
And as he is beginning to understand, there is no such thing as a straightforward win in Irish football.
IRELAND (squad): GOALKEEPERS: Kelleher (Liverpool), Travers (Middlesbrough, on loan from Bournemouth), Bazunu (Standard Liege, on loan from Southampton). DEFENDERS: O’Brien (Everton), Doherty (Wolves) Collins (Brentford), O’Shea (Ipswich), Dunne (QPR), Abankwah (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Brady (Preston), O’Dowda (Cardiff). MIDFIELDERS: Cullen (Burnley), Knight (Bristol City), Taylor (Ipswich), Sykes (Bristol City), Smallbone (Southampton), Azaz (Middlesbrough). FORWARDS: Ferguson (West Ham, on loan from Brighton), Idah (Celtic), Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Armstrong (Bristol City), Johnston (West Brom), Vata (Watford).
