COAT-HANGER smiles from the top table, awkward questions from the floor and crisp white shirt-collars just dying to be yanked as the television cameras rolled and photographers crouched and snapped.
Welcome to the unveiling of Heimir Hallgrimsson – the Republic of Ireland’s new senior team manager in the lecture theatre on the ground floor of the Aviva Stadium.
The 231-day absolutely interminable managerial search to find Stephen Kenny’s successor was finally over.
Flanked by FAI officials Marc Canham, David Courell and Kieran Crowley, Hallgrimsson was all smiles, casually but smartly dressed, tanned from his Copa America experience in the USA with the Jamaican national team and ready to get Ireland ‘back to basics’ – at least until the end of the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign – a tight enough timetable to make an impression, but a contract worth in the region of £500,000 to him.
Yesterday was never going to be an all-singing, all-dancing meet-and-greet, back-slapping session.
The welcome the former Iceland manager received was warm to cordial.
But before the affable 57-year-old could flash his best smile to the assembled media, Courell kicked off proceedings in remorseful but defiant fashion following the historic sex allegations made against some FAI coaches by “multiple female footballers” revealed in a Sunday Independent and RTE investigation last weekend.
Remorseful in that what was alleged to have happened to some female footballers dating back to the 1990s was truly reprehensible; defiant insofar as it will never happen again and the FAI would put stringent safeguarding measures in place.
Reading from a statement, interim CEO, Courell said: “Those courageous women remain at the forefront of our thoughts, and we reiterate our support for them and commit to ensuring it remains the top priority for the association.”
Many commentators also criticised the timing of Hallgrimsson’s unveiling given that it would completely dwarf the Ireland women’s team Euro 2025 qualifier with England at Carrow Road tonight.
Courell acknowledged this but countered they needed to announce Hallgrimsson as soon as possible so that he could get to work, with Ireland’s Uefa Nations League opener with England just around the corner (September 7).
The awkwardness continued.
Hallgrimsson was politely asked to explain his reasoning for wanting to recruit Man United outcast Mason Greenwood to the Jamaican national team earlier in the year given his arrest in January 2022 for attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour. The case against Greenwood was discontinued.
“It’s always in what context the question is asked in what scenario the question is asked,” Ireland’s new head coach said.
“I absolutely don’t approve of his actions, just to make that clear.
“I was trying to maybe duck the question, because answering questions like this, whatever you say will always be people supporting and against what you are saying so that was just an answer in the scenario at that time.”
And for good measure, Damien Duff’s scathing comments about how he would “raze” Abbotstown – the FAI headquarters – were brought up, to which Hallgrimsson made no comment. How could he?
The mood music did improve. Football matters eventually infiltrated the conversation with the FAI hoping Hallgrimsson can ‘do an Iceland’ with the Irish and guide them to a major tournament.
Hallgrimsson was co-manager when Iceland qualified for Euro 2016 and knocked out England at the finals before he took sole charge of his native country and reached the 2018 World Cup finals where they drew 1-1 with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Hallgrimsson also guided Jamaica to the Copa America before they exited at the group stages on July 1.
Wanting interim boss John O’Shea to be part of his backroom team, the former dentist said: “It’s finding out what we need to improve and that will be my task now for the next two months.
“To do as much analysis, looking at games, talking to players, talking to the people in charge etc, what do they think we need to improve, talking to you guys [the media] - you probably have the biggest experience of looking at the game and talking about the negative things etc. And what can we improve, that’s my job, trying to improve what we can improve.”