'We are not happy with this performance' - Hallgrimsson concerned by Ireland's inconsistency
HEIMIR HALLGRIMSSON DID not sugar-coat Ireland's performance after they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Luxembourg, saying his side did not match the effort they put in against Senegal in Dublin last Friday.
'Let's be honest, we are not happy with this performance', the Irish manager told RTE. 'It's good to keep a clean sheet but we felt first half we were sloppy, the game was boring, all the good things we did against Senegal was missing: all the quick movements, the press, the ball speed.
'In the second half we had more tempo, we won more duels, but it was not good enough. We like getting answers to questions but this was a negative one.'
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Ireland will begin World Cup qualifying in September with a home game against second seeds Hungary before travelling to play bottom-ranked Armenia, and Hallgrimsson put the difference in Ireland's performance levels in that context.
'This is something we must learn from, we must play the same way against everyone, whether it's a friendly at the end of the season or a group stage game, we need to play the same way all the time.
'This can teach us a lesson. It is understandable players are thinking, 'after this game we have a break for a long time', and there were a few injuries from fatigue, and maybe they were a little bit careful as they don't want to be injured at the end of the season.
'Even if we had won the game we would not have been happy with the performance.'
Asked by RTÉ to acknowledge the positives, including debutant goalkeeper Max O'Leary's clean sheet, Hallgrimsson quickly veered back to the negative side.
'We can always find something positive and we will do that, first and foremost, the effort we put into this game was so much less than against Senegal.'
Midfielder Jason Knight said there was much for Ireland to improve.
'Obviously it wasn't the most comprehensive performance by any means', said Knight. 'Loads to work on out there. But a lot of change, a lot of new lads into the squad. I think there's definitely things to improve, definitely from tonight. But overall a decent camp and now everyone's looking forward to September.
'We had the chances. And we limited them to very few. Obviously on another day we probably scored two or three, but that's what we've got to improve. But like I say, loads to improve on, but loads of good stuff as well.'
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