‘I wouldn’t have done that’ – Hallgrímsson dismisses Glenn Whelan’s public criticism of Ireland squad

The current Ireland boss wasn't happy with the former midfielder's remarks.

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has responded to Glenn Whelan's TV outburst over his perceived 'lack of belief' in the current Ireland team.

The former Irish international delivered a withering assessment of the Irish squad following last month’s defeats to England and Greece.

Speaking as a TV pundit for Virgin Media and said at the time: "There’s not a positive thing in this Ireland team at the moment.

"I definitely think there's a lack of belief. We need to get back to winning ways. We need to reset.

"I don't want to hear about performances. I don't want to hear about shape and how we are playing. I want to get back to winning games and being involved in tournaments.

"We are two games in and we are fighting for last place. It's not good."

Whelan also called for a shake-up in personnel and said: "There are too many players playing for Ireland who are too used to losing games. Something needs to change.

"For me, it's a case of looking at the under-21s and bringing those lads in and trying to improve things.

"There are too many lads that over the last two, three, four years who have consistently lost for Ireland and it's not good."

In response, the Ireland boss said that Whelan is entitled to his opinion, but he absolutely doesn't agree with it.

"I don’t know Glenn at all," Hallgrimson said. "I wouldn’t know what to expect. I wouldn’t have done that," he added bluntly.

As to whether there may be an issue with the players’ mentality, Hallgrímsson was noncommittal.

"I’ve been with the players for eight days. That’s my contact time. Hopefully with me having closer relationships with them, I’ll know more in-depth."

The former Jamaica head coach also made it clear that the current first-team coach at Wigan Athletic is in no way involved with his backroom team at the moment.

"We’ll see. I don’t know the person at all. I’ve never spoken to him."

SQUAD ANNOUNCED | 24-man squad named for Finland & Greece matches 🤩

Mark McGuinness receives his first call-up as Jack Taylor, Finn Azaz, Jamie McGrath, Festy Ebosele & Mikey Johnston all come into the squad 🇮🇪💚

10/10 | 🇫🇮🆚🇮🇪
13/10 | 🇬🇷🆚🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/cIJnoiX572

— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) October 3, 2024

Speaking at a press conference after announcing his squad for the upcoming games against Finland and Greece, Hallgrimson outlined his ambitions.

"My job is to get this team to the World Cup in the US in 2026, and given that next year, 2025, if we end up in a group with five nations, all our Fifa windows next year will be official World Cup matches, so this is the only chance to experiment, to give players a chance to show what they can do." he said.

"That is the reason we opted to go for other players at this stage."

Matt Doherty and Jake O'Brien were surprise omissions from the squad list, while Luton Town centre-half Mark McGuinness gets his first crack at the first-team and both Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath and West Bromwich Albion winger Mikey Johnston return to the camp.