‘It made us more united than ever’: Heimir Hallgrímsson keen to draw a line under Israel games

And so Heimir Hallgrímsson and his Republic of Ireland squad re-emerge blinking into the sun with the storm of the last international window now passed.

Ireland conclude their Nations League campaign with games away to Austria and at home to Kosovo later this month, and Hallgrímsson is eager to leave the Israel games in the past.

“I don’t want this camp to be an extension of the last camp,” said the Irish manager at his squad announcement press conference on Thursday. Hallgrímsson returned to Iceland after the Israel games to decompress, and says he achieved closure on the whole ordeal when he completed his feedback for the FAI’s review of the camp.

He says the squad learned a lot from the Israel games about leadership, especially in the event they play Israel again. Another pair of games with Israel remain a distinct possibility: if Ireland finish in the top two of this Nations League group – as is their target – then they would be second seeds in December’s Euro 2028 qualifier draw, with Israel set to be among the third seeds.

On the leadership front, one of the lessons that has apparently been learned is the need to turn once again to Séamus Coleman. Though Coleman is not listed in the 24-man squad, he will link up with the group in what Hallgrímsson terms a “hybrid” role.

The 38-year-old has not been involved with a first-team squad at club level since leaving Everton in the summer, but he will train with the Irish squad next week and is likely to lead a couple of meetings with the players. Hallgrímsson wants him around for his “professionalism, focus, and experience”, and the manager was coy on the prospect of Coleman playing in either game, citing his lack of fitness while acknowledging he has excelled for Ireland in the past without needing any match sharpness.

Coleman’s inclusion in this role begs a question as to why he didn’t serve the same job for the previous window, where his experience and leadership would have been a big addition to a seriously fraught situation. Hallgrímsson’s explanation for this was that he didn’t consider Coleman for this “hybrid” role for the last window; he thought of him then solely as a player, and his inclusion would have been unfair on players who were playing regularly for their club.

There has been relatively little squad turnover from the Israel games, with captain Nathan Collins returning from injury along with QPR midfielder Harvey Vale. Gavin Bazunu misses out for Mark Travers, which the FAI say is because of injury.

Bazunu has been sidelined lately with a quad problem, and while he told Hallgrímsson he would be fit by the time the international matches come around, the manager says he is not going to be fit to play for Bolton this weekend and so has been left out. Finn Azaz is also included in the squad, and Hallgrímsson said he didn’t believe there were any doubts as to whether the Southampton midfielder would continue his international career after the experience of the Israel games. Well-placed FAI sources had indicated on the eve of the first Israel game in Hungary that he may not play for Ireland again.

Hallgrímsson broke with his own protocol and spoke with the vast majority of his players about the Israel experience, and said on Thursday that he was struck by how few said it was still playing on their minds. “Everybody had the same answer,” said Hallgrímsson. “It is behind us now, we are looking forward so we are not going to bring in the last camp.”

While everyone is in the mood to move on, Hallgrímsson has not resiled from his comments after the second Israel match around finding his “enemies”. He hasn’t yet said who those enemies are, merely referring to them as “those who kick you when you are low.”

Hallgrímsson also admitted there were some silver linings to be traced from the turbulence around the Israel games.

“Sometimes, as coaches, we artificially manufacture that the world is against us so we stick together,” he said. “We got that for free for three weeks in the last camp. It certainly made us more united than ever.”

Retaining that unity is key.