Tommy Conlon: Ireland need an injection of blood and thunder – an autocrat who demands more

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s chapter in the managed decline of a once-proud football nation is almost at an end

Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. Photo: Seb Daly / Sportsfile

Against Portugal in Lisbon it was basic common sense to turn the team into a barricaded fortress; against Armenia in Dublin three days later it was an affront to our dignity.

Against the team ranked fifth in the world it was fine, against the team currently ranked 104th it was another blow to our self-esteem as a football nation.

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