Uefa Nations League Group Two: Republic of Ireland v England (Saturday, Aviva Stadium, 5pm)
From Brendan Crossan in Abbotstown
WHEN Jayson Molumby entered the press room in Abbotstown this week, some of the Irish media sensed that he was the “b******” Heimir Hallgrimsson was crying out for in his midfield.
It’s been the Icelandic’s signature comment so far as Ireland’s new manager.
Addressing around 250 Ireland supporters in the Aviva Stadium a couple of weeks ago, Hallgrimsson felt that the side had been too nice under former boss Stephen Kenny and that he needed a “b******” in midfield to make life more uncomfortable for the opposition.
So, who fits the “b******” billing in Hallgrimsson 23-man squad to face England and Greece in Dublin on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively?
Is it Molumby – the tough-tackling, all-action central midfield player?
The question was put to the Waterford native – but the 25-year-old couldn’t get beyond his own bashful laughter.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” he replied. “I don’t know where that came from. Only he [Hallgrimsson] knows. I don’t even know how to answer that. Erm, yeah, I don’t know how to answer.”
When the question was framed differently to Molumby later in the interview, he could yet be the midfield enforcer the new manager is looking for in the opening Nations League game against England.
“Obviously playing at home you want to make it as uncomfortable as possible for everyone,” he said.
“The atmosphere itself will do that. As players, that is probably a strength of mine where I try and make it uncomfortable for players. I like to get tight to people, leave a bit on people, let them know I’m there.
“That’s probably a big part of my game, try and put energy into the game, give the team a lift.”
Molumby is bouncing fit again after being sidelined for seven months with a foot injury in January.
He’s started all four games in West Brom’s unbeaten start to their Championship season with the Irishman chipping in with the winner against Swansea last weekend.
Upon his return to action, he was involved in an unsightly incident in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly where he punched an opponent – Samu Costa of Mallorca – after being fouled.
He was subsequently fined £16,000 by his club for misconduct.
Molumby admitted that his bout of indiscipline was probably the culmination of months of frustration on the sidelines.
“It was the build-up of six or seven months before that,” he said.
“A lot of frustration, a lot of anger. Obviously, I didn’t handle myself the best there and was probably going through a difficult time. It’s obviously something I’m not proud of, but I’m only human. I have emotions as well and I can only hold my hands up when I’m wrong.
“Ask anyone. Off the pitch I’m not an aggressive person at all, I’m quite calm and relaxed but I think I just go into competitive mode when I cross the line.”
Molumby has suffered a couple of bad injuries in his career – a knee issue in 2017 kept him out for over a year – and a foot injury in January from which he didn’t know whether he’d make a full recovery.
“It’s a bit of an emotional journey, do you know what I mean? There’s nothing you can do. You don’t really know if you’re going to be back to be honest because the injury I had was quite a bad one, so I sort of, you worry a lot.
“Any big injury I think you don’t know how it’s going to go, do you? You don’t know if it’ll heal properly because that’s always a risk with surgery.
“Thankfully I got the best surgeon, and the club were fantastic with me, so a big thanks to West Brom and all the medical team there.”
Molumby was one of the U21 starlets Stephen Kenny put his trust in when he assumed the senior reins in 2020.
But it was a painful road for both manager and a raft of rookie players trying to make the step up to senior level.
Alongside Molumby, Adam Idah, Aaron Connolly, Troy Parrott, Jason Knight, Caoimhin Kelleher, Dara O’Shea and Nathan Collins were all road-tested at the same time with mixed results.
Callum Robinson commented this week that Kenny did the “hard bit” by introducing so many young players to senior international football, many of whom have accumulated between 20 and 30 caps.
“Getting thrown into at the deep end probably a bit earlier than I expected or others might have expected [was difficult] but I feel in the long run it’s benefited me now,” said Molumby, who sits on 24 senior caps.
“I feel comfortable playing for Ireland and something I’m very proud of. I feel ready and ready to come in now.”
“There are no more excuses for us anymore. We were young lads coming in but now we’ve got the experience, it’s not good enough any more to say, ‘Ah, you’re young’ or whatever, you know.
“We’re experienced now at international level. It’s time to kick on.”
