Damien Duff on new Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson: 'It’s commitment, that’s all it is'

Heimir Hallgrímsson in attendance as Shelbourne face St Joseph's in Tolka Park.

Heimir Hallgrímsson in attendance as Shelbourne face St Joseph's in Tolka Park. Credit: Paul Dolan (ETPhotos)

The new Republic of Ireland Senior Men's manager was in attendance for Shelbourne’s 2-1 win over St Joseph’s in the Europa Conference League qualifiers in Tolka Park.

After the match, the Shels boss was asked about Hallgrímsson’s presence at the game stating, “No I would have loved to [have met him]. I think he’s fascinating.

“I didn’t get a lot of time I guess to study him yesterday, but I think he’s a brilliant appointment.
“Why? You just have to look at ’16 and ’18, the Icelandic team, absolutely amazing.

“I know you all think I hammer the FAI, but I cannot wait to see what he does with the team. I would have loved to gone up and given him a hug after the game.”

When asked about Hallgrímsson living in Ireland as part of the job and the connection with Irish culture, Duff said, “It’s commitment, that’s all it is. It’s absolutely as simple as that. No other reasons or words describe it.

“He is obviously fully invested and if I get an hour or two over the next couple of weeks, I will absolutely be downloading the English game where he was joint-manager and they did a job on them, and the Argentina game just to learn from him.

“I can’t wait to see him working and what he does”.

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