Heimir outlines key way he’s helped Irish players to prepare for England test

HEIMIR HALLGRÍMSSON says his job is to cool Ireland players down rather than hype them up.

The Icelander takes charge of the Boys in Green for the first time in what is a first competitive meeting against England in 34 years.

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And he insisted he does not need to get them pumped for the game because his role is to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and tactics to try to cause a massive upset.

Hallgrimsson said: “I’ve been brief on those things.

“I think for us coaches it’s probably not necessary to motivate the players to play against England.

“It’s probably the opposite for us, to just remind them what they should be doing on the pitch, focus on the tactics et cetera.

“That has been kind of what we have been talking about.

“It has probably been to cool them more down than to get them excited and motivated.

“I think that comes from within them, to do good and motivated.

“So we can say it’s more our job to cool them down and get them focused on what they should be doing on the pitch.”

As co-manager, Hallgrimsson led his country to victory over England at Euro 2016 and he said: “I hope we will have the same result tomorrow, of course.

“We were just speaking in the car on the way in, that night was special.

“Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal, and nothing England tried that night succeeded.

“So it was just one of those days. Hopefully it will come again tomorrow.

“But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England.

“We need to make sure we have the best game we can tomorrow and see what that gives us.”

FULLY FIT SQUAD

He has a clean bill of health for the match and said that the only way Ireland can overcome their higher-ranked rivals if they add up to more of the sum of their parts.

He said: “If Ireland has a chance to beat England, that’s as a collective.

“For sure, man for man, gung ho, probably nine out of ten, England would win.

“So we need to play as a collective against them, and that is going to be the way to win the match tomorrow.”

Hallgrímsson would offer no clues on the formation he would use against Lee Carsley’s side but said the players would be informed of the starting XI later today.

He said: “That’s the normal way. The reason I do that is for the players to know and think about it in bed matchday minus one and be prepared.”