HEIMIR HALLGRÍMSSON INSISTS he is not aware of any interest in his services from the Indonesian FA as he reaffirmed his belief that he can lead the Republic of Ireland to the World Cup.

A report in the Irish Examiner earlier this week stated the Icelander was under consideration to replace the sacked Patrick Kluivert after the Dutch legend failed to progress through the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for next summer’s tournament.

Hallgrímsson says he is still planning to be involved in the play-off series after Ireland play Portugal and Hungary in their final two group games.

The Ireland boss named his 25-man squad yesterday and said questions relating to his future can be answered once the next two fixtures are out of the way, but for now those Indonesia links were not on his radar.

“No. Absolutely not. Like I said, I plan to stay here until June [for the World Cup]. Nothing else matters. But then again, after this camp, we will take these questions, but now, we just focus on Portugal and after that we focus on Hungary, then we focus on the play-offs,” Hallgrímsson said, rallying against what he believed to be negativity elsewhere.

“It’s difficult when the media is not optimistic but the fans are really optimistic and show that they’re supportive.

“But from good performances, we build on that.

“We played two games [last month], difficult away in Portugal, but conceded 0.5 goals from these two games.

“And if that’s the norm, normally that’s enough to qualify for any team. So if we keep on building on that thing, and then work our way from that thing, I think that is the way forward for us.”

Hallgrímsson’s contract runs for as long as Ireland’s World Cup hopes remain alive, and he was adamant in the progress he has made in charge.

“That’s my belief. We need to always secure defensive things first and then build from that. I think that’s the way forward for Ireland, yes.

“It doesn’t matter if I have the time. I think that is the way forward, whether it’s me or someone else. For me, that’s the way forward.

“I cannot be populistic, [or think about] what others think. This is what I think, seeing the big picture.

“I know others would disagree and want to do something different. I totally respect that but if you want to win the dance competition, and you also would like to be the most beautiful girl on the dance floor, it kind of messes up with the other thing. Sometimes you have to pick and choose.”

Hallgrímsson accepted that this could be his last window in charge but didn’t want to dwell on such a scenario.

“Obviously, you think about it, but my focus is that I’m going to stay here until June, at least June or July.

“That’s my focus. I’m not letting anything else distract that because then I’m not doing my job.

“I’m optimistic but I’m also a realist. So, yeah, I’ll do the best I can and then the future will tell what will happen.

“But my focus is [that] I’m going to stay here until the end of June. That’s my focus. We are going to qualify.”

Wins over Portugal and Hungary will be required to guarantee a play-off, while the outcome of Hungary’s game in Armenia in the hours before Ireland host Portugal next week could also determine alternative means of progress.

“At least we have it in our hands. So why be negative? We have it in our hands. Two wins and we are there.

“Is it going to be easy? No, it’s not going to be easy. It’s never going to be easy against a team that is ranked above us.

“It has been the story of this national team through the years, inconsistency, but hopefully we can find some consistency and work some consistency and build from that.

“That’s my take on it, that’s the way I see it, that’s what we are trying to do and again, not listening to the noise, because then, you are a populist, if you change what you are doing, do this today and that tomorrow because it’s some opinions.

“It is just knowing what the big picture is, trying to work from that one and improve from that one. I respect other opinions too, but we can’t be changing our process based on what others are saying.”