Soccer

Heimir Hallgrímsson drives to Waterford to meet John O’Shea

Interim manager is wanted to be Icelander’s assistant for the national team

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
Gavin Cummiskey
Mon Jul 15 2024 - 16:21

Heimir Hallgrímsson drove to Waterford on Monday to discover if John O’Shea is willing to remain on the Republic of Ireland coaching ticket as his assistant.

O’Shea openly sought the Ireland manager’s job while acting as interim head coach for friendlies this year against Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary and Portugal.

FAI director of football Marc Canham said last week that Hallgrímsson was the first choice candidate all along, and that the association waited for his time as Jamaica manager to end after the Copa America.

The Icelander’s contract runs until the 2026 World Cup but the 57-year-old is open to O’Shea being part of the FAI’s succession plan.

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“My way into [the Iceland] national team coaching was exactly like that and I think the assistant coach should be the one that carries the knowledge to the next cycle and [the FAI] have obviously shown that they believe [O’Shea] is going to be, or is good enough to be the coach,” said Hallgrímsson before meeting O’Shea. Hallgrímsson co-managed Iceland alongside Swede Lars Lagerbäck for three years before taking the role himself after Euro 2016.

“So I think it’s a no-brainer, whatever happens back to me, I always say the same thing, I want to leave the shirt in a better place when I go, and to have a guy that has been doing the things with us is probably always the best one to take over, if you want continuity, growth and development.

“That kind of makes sense to me but it’s always difficult to have been the head coach and then stepping down to be assistant coach. That takes a good character to do that.”

It remains unclear if O’Shea is willing to step down, having managed the national team for four games in 2024, but the FAI would allow him double job as an assistant coach with Ireland and an English club.

“I think it’s better for me to talk about it after we speak but if he wants to meet probably he’s considering,” added Hallgrímsson. “I think it’s more positive than negative.”

Canham indicated last week that O’Shea’s backroom coaches, Paddy McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, have been retained by the FAI ahead of the Nations League opener against England on September 7th.

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey is The Irish Times' Soccer Correspondent