Paul Fennessy reports from FAI HQ, Abbotstown

IT’S NO QUESTION that midfield is one of the biggest issues in the Irish team.

It’s just over a year since Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first game in charge, and several players have been tried in the area.

Josh Cullen, Jason Knight, Will Smallbone, Killian Phillips, Bosun Lawal, Jayson Molumby, Alan Browne, Jack Taylor, Andrew Moran, John Patrick, Mark Sykes, and Conor Coventry have all been included in the Icelandic coach’s squads at various points.

But all too often, Ireland’s opponents have dominated them in this pivotal area of the field — notably so, in last month’s demoralising defeat by Armenia.

Ahead of the World Cup qualifiers on 11 and 14 October against Portugal and the Armenians, West Bromwich Albion’s Molumby and Millwall’s Smallbone were both included in the latest squad, with Jason Knight and Bosun Lawal unavailable due to injury.

Players such as Patrick, Moran and Phillips, who have received call-ups recently, are overlooked for now.

Asked why Ireland’s midfielders struggled in Yerevan, Hallgrímsson said: “It was the nature of the game, we never felt in control of the game, we won the ball, we tried to go into attacking positions and we lost it, that’s the toughest part for a midfielder, when it’s a transition game and they seemed to have more power than us, to take runs and find spaces, by some reason. That’s first and foremost why we struggled in that game. We wanted to win that area, that’s why we started with three midfielders.”

Pressed on whether the midfield was a problem, the Ireland manager responded: “No, it’s not a problem but we don’t have the different kind of midfielders, I said from the beginning that there wasn’t much difference between the midfielders we had, that is more the problem than the numbers, that’s why I wanted to see Killian [Phillips] and try him.

“Bosun [Lawal] and Killian in the future will be in contention to play for Ireland; they have different skillsets, but we always need the ones who will be in a position and control the area. But we need to add something to that.

“It’s not a problem, but we have too many similar players; it’s difficult to make a change when we want to change something.”

Joe Hodge, who joined newly promoted Primeira Liga club Tondela in Portugal from Wolves in the summer, is one option that Hallgrímsson has so far resisted.

“He is on our radar, we look at him all the time, John [O'Shea] had him in the U21s, and he speaks highly of him, but again, there’s not much difference from the ones we have.”

Another potential solution is selecting centre-back Nathan Collins in midfield — an experiment Ireland attempted in the 5-0 defeat to England but one they have yet to return to.

“We have been talking about what we can do, what we can change, and that’s one of the options,” the manager said. “I am not going to tell you if we are going to do it, but it’s one of the options.”

Near the start of his reign, Hallgrímsson memorably proclaimed, “Sometimes you need a bastard in your team.” Has he found that individual yet?

“I think we need someone who will not take anything for granted, someone who is a leader on the pitch, you can use your own word to pick, but I think everyone knew what I was talking about, a leader who would not accept anything below the standard.

“I think that is one of the things we need in the squad, and I think and I hope Seamus [Coleman] and John Egan will raise that thing and keep everyone sharp all the time, but also just to win the duels, win the aerial battles, win the tackles, take pride in winning all the small battles on the pitch. I think that is what a true professional should focus on.”

Part of the problem, Hallgrímsson suggests, is that these types of rough diamonds are not being produced at the same rate they once were.

“I would say that, going back to grassroots and stuff, going back to who is — what do you call that one — who is going to be the next big thing, the best player in the future, when you look at U7, U8, U9, who is going to be the best player. Is it the most technical player? Are we just focusing on them?

“Who is the potential leader? Are we looking at that? Is that one just too noisy, and we put him away and pick this one, because he can juggle the ball more? I think that is part of the problem in how we select youth teams. I am answering something I shouldn’t be answering, but that is how I feel.

“I have examples from my own home country; we have had a lot of good defenders in the past. Top ones, tackling, like you guys had here, but now we don’t have, because we have the indoor arenas and all the fancy-pancy, and nobody is going out on the gravel pitch in the rain and wind and cold in his shorts, playing football, and that is where you build character.

“Are we in their youth selecting them correctly? I think we should be looking differently at: ‘What is a character, what is a leader?’”