Hallgrimsson clarifies 'emotional' post-match comments

Heimir Hallgrimsson admitted that his post-match comments regarding his players being too passive may have been a touch harsh having had a chance to re-watch the 2-1 victory over Bulgaria.

Speaking after the game, the manager was happy with the result and his side's first-half performance, however, he did criticise the team’s second-half showing when speaking to RTE Sport after the game, stating "we got too passive in the second half, especially defensively. When you're protecting a lead, this happens automatically, but it shouldn't. We should be more brave and step higher."

The manager was back in Dublin for the pre-match press conference and offered some clarification on the passive remark, saying that while his side did sit deeper in the second half, they were always in control of affairs on the pitch.

Chances were limited at both ends in what was a sloppy, stop-start second half in Plovdiv, while a host of substitutions on both sides did not help the flow or tempo of the game.

"I’ve always been a little bit too emotional, it’s why I don’t like to talk to players after games, I like to analyse the game before I speak, [so] it was probably emotion a little bit there" said Hallgrimsson, when asked how to improve on that passive aspect of the performance.

"When I watched the game on TV, even though we gave them a little bit more of possession, there was never any danger at all that they would create something.

"That was what I saying answering Tony [O’Donoghue’s] question before, about the principles and what we do when we don’t have possession.

"We have some really good bits from those moments, we absolutely controlled the game even though they had possession.

"And that is something, once we go to finals whenever that will be, hopefully next summer, we need to be perfect in these areas, because sometimes against good opponents you don’t have the ball and you can do nothing about it. You need to be compact and solid.

"That is what we did against Bulgaria, we gave them a little bit of the initiative, we dropped a little bit deeper on the pitch but still we did that part really well. After looking after the game, it was not like it affected our chances of winning it.

"We had some really good opportunities in counter attacks, we should have done better in those, just a different way of playing, it’s good to have, you know, working on both areas. I thought we did both really well in this game."

Matt Doherty training on the eve of the game

Ireland go into Sunday’s return game with a 2-1 advantage as they look to cement their League B status in the Nations League, and the manager was happy to report that the squad had a clean bill of health ahead of the second leg.

"The doc came into the coaches room this morning and said everyone was fit and ready to play so that's the first time he has said that," said Hallgrimsson. "I think it's a good sign for us, that everyone wants to be part of this game."

The manager also senses a change in confidence in the team and feels that there is real belief among the unit as they, once again, came from behind to win in Bulgaria, having done something similar in Helsinki last October.

Hallgrimsson also feels that the positive results and changing attitudes are bringing a healthy sense of competition into the squad, considering several key players are missing for this particular window.

"As a coach you always feel uncomfortable going behind in games, but I think they have shown now, not only in Bulgaria but Finland as well, turning this around, they now believe more and more in each other and what they are doing," said Hallgrimsson.

"We obviously try to feed them with positive clips from those moment. They need to come here, the Bulgarians, and attack us and be on the front foot and take risks.

"We know they might succeed, that’s international football, if you are two steps from your right position, you get punished at this level.

"I think we are improving in certain areas, and we are focusing more on some things than others. I think we are improving.

"I smell there is a little change coming. Now everyone is wanting to play and pushing for their place in the team. That’s a good sign, a really good sign, we have a really healthy competition."

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Josh Cullen joined the manager for the pre-match press conference and the influential midfielder offered a players’ perspective as to why the team are starting to gel more as a unit.

"I think it's been a work in progress since the boss has come in," said Hallgrimsson.

"We've been working in the limited time that we've had together to build our principles and what we want to stand for as a team and how we want to go about things when we're on the pitch. I think you can see that come together now.

"There is still work to do now and we want to keep improving but you can see the structure and the basics and the direction we want to go in. You could see a lot of those positives from the game on Thursday."

Watch Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on Radio 1 Extra

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