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Adam Idah prepared to feature off Irish bench as there's ‘hard decisions' for Hallgrimsson ahead of World Cup qualifiers
ADAM Idah shushed those who said he should be on the bench in March - but he will put his hand up for a bench role if it gets Ireland to the World Cup.
Celtic striker Idah, 24, celebrated his winner against Bulgaria in March by raising his finger to his lips and revealed afterwards
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Adam Idah scored the winner off the bench in most recent Ireland game against Bulgaria
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Heimir Hallgrimsson will have his hands full with team selection
The Cork man insisted there was no issue with boss Heimir Hallgrímsson.
But he did confirm he had spoken to the Ireland gaffer about his lack of action having made just three sub appearances and one start from six games available under the new boss.
Hallgrímsson, for his part, loved Idah's celebration as he insisted he hoped Idah was unhappy to be out of his starting XI.
But Idah insisted he is ready for a super sub role again in the World Cup qualifiers that begin in September if that is what it takes to get Ireland to the finals.
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He continued: 'We want to qualify for tournaments. It is up to the manager, whether that is me starting or coming off the bench, I want to help the team.
'We want to qualify for the World Cup and you want to be part of that, whether it is starting or off the bench. Even if you don't come on you can always help the team.
'It is up to the manager. Of course I want the minutes. But qualifying is the most important.
'I just think with the boys, the group has gelled a lot better now. We have not played well but we have managed to get results that were lacking before in previous games.
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"It is a lot more positive in the group, we are closer together, it was tough to get going but some of us have been together four, five years now so we really want to push for qualification.'
Idah, who scored 20 goals for Celtic last term though over half his appearances came as sub, has a battle on his hands to get in the team with
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He continued: 'The three of us can do our bit. We're three different types of strikers which is good to have.
'Regardless of who starts, we know we've got fresh legs on the bench. All of us seem to be doing really well by scoring goals and that's brilliant to have.
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'Hopefully it creates hard decisions for the manager.'
And that friendly rivalry in attack extends throughout the team, as Idah insisted that the squad now have the experience to push-on and expect to reach tournaments.
Handed a debut in 2020 against Bulgaria by Stephen Kenny, Idah now has 30 caps - and five goals - as Ireland have failed to make the last three tournaments.
Attitude Change
But the Celtic man believes the squad now has the experience at international level, and the attitude has changed in the past year.
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He added: 'The last couple of years were frustrating not winning games that we should have and not qualifying for tournaments, where we wanted to be.
'These last couple of games have been brilliant for us, to change that mentality by having that winning attitude.
'We've gelled really properly together. We've been together for the last five years and there's been new boys who've been brilliant.
'Hopefully we can give them that motivation and the right mentality to come into camp and try to win every game.
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'There's a nice vibes around the group. We've won the last two games which we probably haven't had for a while.
'It can take its toll because coming into camp on the back of losses is not a great feeling.
'It's been really positive and to be fair to the staff they've made it really comfortable for us.
'Having that winning mentality is something we've not had for a long time. It can be tough not winning games you should be.'
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RECENT UPTURN
But that has changed recently with Ireland winning four of their last six games - two apiece against Finland and Bulgaria.
They hope to add to that this week against Senegal on Friday and then away to Luxembourg next Tuesday in the final preparation games before the opening qualifier with Hungary.
And Idah stressed that this week is all about being ready for the qualifiers - a six-game sprint between September and November - against Hungary, Armenia and Portugal.
The Celtic striker said: 'Every player knows what we need to do. I know these are only friendlies but it's the last chance of being together before the September camp.
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'So it's so important to have momentum going into September and keeping that winning run.
'We want momentum after the last camp. So, trying to win the games is the most important thing to try and keep that confidence in the squad ahead of that September game.
'It was tough before, when we weren't winning games and going into the next camp. It is hard to switch and keep positive, to keep momentum going.'
