Oct 10,2024
Heimir Hallgrimsson took an immediate shine to Sammie Szmodics, and while the manager admits that he has not yet found his perfect position, he is adamant that he will keep exploring.
As Ireland get set for their Nations League encounter with Finland in Helsinki, Hallgrimsson looks set to name Szmodics once more in his starting XI.
The Ipswich forward can play in a range of positions, whether out on the flank, in a number ten role or leading the line, and Hallgrimsson has constantly praised the player's infectious energy and enthusiasm for the game.
Szmodics only made his Ireland debut in March, however, he started every game this year and played all but six minutes of the September double-header.
The relentless running of Szmodics, showing that he is willing to do the less-glamourous defensive work, was one of the few positives to take from the poor performance as the side lost 2-0 to England, while he showed his potential potency against Greece where he constantly probed and prodded at the back line, attempting to get his first goal for his country.
"He has many qualities," said Hallgrimsson, when asked about Szmodics’ best position. "One of them is his eagerness to run in behind the defence, finding spaces.
"For example, the Greece game, he went multiple times in behind the defence without getting the pass, but he kept on going and going.
"There are not many players who have that in modern football. Normally they would stop running when the pass doesn’t come.
"But no, he can play a lot of positions. It’s just the energy and enthusiasm that he has that you want in your team. And I think we haven’t found his best position, but we are looking.
"So who knows if he plays if he plays tomorrow and what position he pops up in."
Nathan Collins will captain the side and only Caoimhín Kelleher and Szmodics are probably also assured of their places in the starting eleven, which is expected to see some changes from the team that lost to Greece.
Several new players have come into the squad and the manager has hinted that he wants to see what they can bring, while he will also be anxious to see more of emerging players like Kasey McAteer.
Andrew Omobamidele had a double dose of pressure on his shoulders as he was selected to play in that Greece game, not only playing out of position at right-back, but also lacking the competitive club minutes, which would have added to the scrutiny.
Overall, the Nottingham Forest man did admirably under the conditions and he proves the point that club minutes are not always necessary if the manager has belief.
"Often players play really well with the national team, even though they are not doing it with their clubs, and then vice versa," said Hallgrimsson, regarding Omobamidele.
"That does not need to go hand-in-hand at all. If he is doing his job for the national team and doing well, and the team is doing well, I see no reason why it should be.
"It’s obviously always the individual, the position, who we are playing, the team selection. It doesn’t need to be. Of course, that would be the preference that the player is playing really well and flying in his team coming into the national team. That will always be the preference."
Looking ahead to the game at the Olympic Stadium, Hallgrimsson is expecting a tough test against a team that are capable of getting the best out of the players, having qualified for Euro 2020, where they beat Denmark in their opening encounter.
"They will play a style that we think we know," said Hallgrimsson. "We know more or less how they are going to play.
"They are a really tactical, hard-working team with honest players, quick back, quick transition team, and how they score goals is maybe easy to analyse but difficult to play against.
"And that’s the sign of a good team and that is why they qualified for major finals, because they are effective in the way they are playing."
Hallgrimsson has had just two games to start to change the fortunes of this Ireland team, and while he admits that he had to learn how to speak "Irish", little else has changed in his approach to coaching.
"[Not] so much," said Hallgrimsson, when asked had he changed his coaching style for this Ireland job.
"Learning the culture, how to talk to them, of course a strange accent guy trying to speak Irish, so that’s probably the toughest thing.
"Like I said before, I’m trying to use the assistant coaches as much as I can to also deliver the message that we want to get through, but no I don’t think I’m doing anything different from before."
And as for the naysayers who are already starting to take pot shots at the latest regime tasked with changing the fortunes of the national side, it is clear that Hallgrimsson respects their opinions, but evidently they do not keep him awake at night.
"No, that's the industry," he said, regarding Richard Dunne’s recent criticism. "Your job is trying to get subscribers, to listen to you, to buy your papers, whatever you write, whatever you need to get subscribers. And we need to respect your opinions.
"To have an opinion on your opinion, if we need to do that all day long then, probably, we would not be coaching at all, we won't have time for that, so whatever people's opinion is, that's their opinion and we need to respect it."
