Aidan Fitzmaurice – Slow horses: Heimir Hallgrimsson has to cure the old Irish habit of bad starts

Aidan Fitzmaurice – Slow horses: Heimir Hallgrimsson has to cure the old Irish habit of bad starts

Gavin Bazunu, left, and Dara O'Shea leave the pitch after Ireland's crushing defeat to Luxembourg which put a huge dent in their hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Getting the words right remains a challenge, but the Iceland-born manager of the Republic of Ireland side is doing his best to tip his hat to the culture of his current employers by learning the words of Amhrán na bhFiann .

If a Turas Teanga takes him further down a rabbit hole, Heimir Hallgrimsson might latch on to one of the most-used of sayings in Irish: tús maith, leath na hoibre (a good start is half the job done).