At one stage, Heimir Hallgrímsson took a swig from a bottle of Ballygowan and glanced around the room, his eyes drifting slowly as those sitting either side of him attempted to fill in the cracks around his appointment.
Ireland’s new international manager might well have been hoping for a hundred thousand welcomes, but instead he had to be content with spending much of his inaugural press conference listening to roughly that many questions about off-the-field matters.
If it felt like being dropped in the dentist’s chair, at least Hallgrímsson has experience.
But, to be fair, rarely has any Ireland manager looked quite so modish on opening night – Hallgrímsson rocked a casual double-breasted beige overshirt on top of a white open-necked offering, matching check trousers, snazzy frayed cream Adidas shoes and colourful stripy socks – Paul Smith, apparently. Perhaps it’s worth checking if the boy Smith qualifies for Ireland.
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It would be easier to imagine Hallgrímsson draped casually across a swivel stool giving a poetry workshop rather than looming over a patient, drilling cavities.
But from the opening questions of Thursday’s press conference, it was clear the dominant mood music of the room was not to better understand his footballing philosophy.
Questions were fired up mainly towards Marc Canham and David Courell, ranging from the appointment process (231 days); if the guy beside them was actually the preferred candidate; the timing of the announcement during a week where allegations of historical sexual abuse of women players emerged; scheduling a press conference a day before the Ireland women’s team face England; Damien Duff looking to raze FAI headquarters; and Mason Greenwood’s links to Jamaica when Hallgrímsson was manager.
On the Greenwood situation, Hallgrímsson commented: “I absolutely don’t approve of his actions, just to make that clear.”
Roughly 26 minutes in, the new Ireland manager was asked what he made of all the background noise and negativity dominating the press conference on what was his big unveiling. He played a straight bat about not knowing enough details to comment, which is fair enough, but clearly the tone of the day was not what any new manager would have wanted.
Still, while internally he could be forgiven for wondering “what the hell have I let myself in for here?”, Hallgrímsson never got defensive or twitchy. He was open, engaging, pleasant.
He plans to live in Ireland and will be joined by his wife, Iris – who was also at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday. The house-hunting will start straight away.
“Yes, that will be the next few days, we want to stay on the island, just to get to know the culture, the people, especially the football culture and the league,” he said. “Even though it’s a short distance to Iceland, a two-hour flight, doing this job it would be better and more helpful to be here and know the people.
“I have sometimes said [Irish people are] similar to Icelanders, happy people, proud people, hard-working people. When you have a pint you like to sing, like us. I think there are a lot of similarities between the two nations. This is why, when we come here, we feel at home, because we connect to the culture, to the personalities of Irish people, and they are really welcoming, I must say that.”
Still, for a process which moved with all the urgency of a sloth crawling through treacle since last November, the culmination of the search arrived this week like an unexpected whirlwind.
Over the last 48 hours, you can be certain Google experienced an unprecedented spike from Irish users searching for information on Icelandic football managers who were also adept at root canals. That will test your analytics.
This will be his third island nation to manage – following on from his native Iceland and then Jamaica.
“Your time with the players is so limited as a national coach, so you need to have the basics perfect before you build on something different,” he explained. “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.”
He has watched videos of Ireland’s recent friendlies. “Ups and downs,” he suggested, which just about sums up Irish football for several years now.
And he won’t be married to any one formation.
“I’ve played lots of formations, four at the back and also three at the back against the bigger nations. Number one is what players are available. It also depends on what team you’re playing so I think formation is secondary. It is more about principles, how you react to scenarios in games, how you defend and drop off. All of these things, they are more important.”
There is no avoiding the reality the process was messy, but no date was provided by any of those involved as to when the first approach was made to the former Iceland manager.
“It was always an interesting project, this national team. Before COPA América I talked to the president of Jamaica and told him I would resign after the COPA. It was always kind of exciting and the top of my list to come here,” said Hallgrímsson.
Before the press conference started, broadcasters worked on their pronunciation (Hay-meer, seemingly) while down the tunnel stadium tours were still taking place. That’s how rushed it all was. Nobody knew until everybody knew.
During his time as Iceland manager, Hallgrímsson often met supporters before matches.
“It was really special in Iceland, because we started something,” he recalled. “Nobody [was] attending games, we were playing the Faroe Islands and I said to the guys that they should renew this old fan club. I think there were seven people at the first meeting, I showed them the opponents and how we were going to play. Slowly it just grew and it ended up with a few hundred people crowded in a pub.”
Time will tell what relationship he creates with Ireland fans.
Hallgrímsson was not a leftfield appointment; the truth is you couldn’t even find the field he was plucked from. But that doesn’t mean his arrival won’t produce something positive. There’s no telling how it will all play out, but Ireland fans have no right to be dismissive before a ball is kicked in anger.
“Hopefully we can do something here,” Hallgrímsson added.
Now he’s here, he deserves to be given that chance.
If for no other reason than those snazzy shoes.
