SEAMUS COLEMAN admitted he was ‘glad we’ve finally got a manager’ following Heimir Hallgrimsson’s appointment.
And the Republic of Ireland captain believes the mission is to get the Boys in Green back into a major tournament – regardless of how.
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Hallgrimsson was appointed as Stephen Kenny‘s successor following the FAI‘s arduous 231-day search.
Reacting to his hiring, Coleman welcomed the new gaffer, saying: “I think we’re all glad that we’ve finally got a manager, whichever way it’s come about, and we’ve got to back him now and support him.
“I know that’s what the Irish people do.
“They will get right behind this manager and support him because another major tournament has gone past where we’ve all been sitting from our sitting rooms watching, or from pubs watching, wherever.”
Under Kenny, Ireland had missed out on Euro 2021 and 2024 and the 2022 World Cup in between.
Should they qualify for the 2026 World Cup, it will have been ten years since their last competition – Euro 2016.
Under Martin O’Neill, they got to the last-16, including a famous win over Italy.
Heimir Hallgrimsson, meanwhile, was co-Iceland manager at the tournament, at which they got to the quarter-finals thanks to an iconic win over England.
His tenure will begin with a clash against England in the UEFA Nations League in September.
The 57-year-old has said that he would be going back to basics when it comes to style of play, with Coleman saying the most important thing was to finally end their wait for won.
He added: “There is talk of styles of play and development, and I get all that for the future of Irish football, but the here and now is that you want to be at these tournaments, however way that is.
“If that’s playing out from the back or whatever, kicking long, the nation needs to be at these tournaments and we need to find a way of getting there.
“England got to the (Euro 2024) final and I don’t think they played lovely, attractive football, but they got to the final.
“Maybe it only got them so far, but we have to get the balance right between playing attractive football, but also playing to win games. For me, that’s where we need to get to.”