Gavin Cooney

HEIMIR HALLGRIMSSON HAS effected a gradual improvement in the team he has inherited by making a couple of major changes. 

Ireland played a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 for the vast majority of Stephen Kenny’s tenure, and his successor has retained a version of this when Ireland have possession, though his back three looks more like a 3-4-2-1. Without the ball, Ireland line up in a fairly standard 4-4-2. 

The player who best sums up Ireland’s newfound flexibility is Ryan Manning. 

When Manning first caught the eye as a player with Galway United and with the Irish underage teams, he was a pure creator, playing in advanced attacking areas, usually as a No.10. Under Russell Martin, first at Swansea and then at Southampton, Manning began retreating back up the pitch, playing left wing-back, then left-back and, occasionally, as the left centre-back at a back three. 

That Manning would end up as a centre back flabbergasted those who worked with him years earlier in Ireland. 

Kenny gave Manning his senior Irish debut against Bulgaria in 2020, and subsequently used him primarily as a left-back and left wing-back. With Enda Stevens and Robbie Brady dogged by injuries, Manning had openings to make the position his own, but never did. In 11 caps under Kenny, Manning completed 90 minutes only three times. 

Hallgrimsson, though, has unlocked Manning’s best performances in an Irish jersey by going back to the future: he sees Manning as a creative attacking player, and not a left-back. 

And so against Senegal on Friday night, Manning started as the left winger in Ireland’s, on-paper, 4-4-2. But once Ireland had the ball, Manning drifted in-field to play as one of two number 10s, with Robbie Brady pushing higher to play at left wing-back. 

His link-up play with Brady is key to how Ireland want to play. Manning is unafraid to drop deep into midfield to collect possession when Ireland are working their way across from the opposite flank, from where he can link up with Brady, who can whip crosses into the box or find a runner in behind.

(Hallgrimsson primarily asks his starting forward to run in behind rather than dropping off: it’s why Adam Idah and Troy Parrott have been picked for this role with Evan Ferguson picked in a slightly deeper role.) 

And given Manning’s experience at left-back, Brady can attack knowing he has cover behind him should the move break down. (Stopping counter-attacks is a massive area of improvement under Hallgrimsson, as we covered in March.)

Ireland’s combination play down the left flank yielded their first goal against Bulgaria in Plovdiv earlier this year, and it was Manning who created Ireland’s goal against Senegal, deftly flicking the ball back into the box for Nathan Collins to nod on to Kasey McAteer, after Senegal half-cleared an Irish corner. 

“He is a genuine good player but the best thing for me is that he can play more than one position”, says Hallgrimsson of Manning. “That helps us a lot in how we want to play. We want players to take action and then [for others] to fill up and react to that position. Him and Robbie have done a good job playing together.

“He is growing in this role that we have given him, he is getting to start game after game now so you can see his understanding of the tactics. He is a player who can create and is quick. For me also when Robbie is higher he can drop in and be the left back so that is really a good positive thing, their cooperation has been really good.”

It was notable that once Manning was withdrawn against Senegal midway through the second half, Ireland grew more deep: they missed his quality and security on the ball, and ultimately fell into a low block. Defending from that low block remains a concern under Hallgrimsson: they have kept only one clean sheet under their new manager, at home to Finland, and that game required Caoimhín Kelleher to save a penalty. 

“We are conceding goals from crosses too many times and in this case we were too passive in the cross”, said Hallgrimsson about Senegal’s late equaliser. “We didn’t attack the ball when the cross came and it has happened before. That is a slight confidence thing.”

That facet of the game has to be improved upon by the time World Cup qualifying campaign begins in September, and a key target for Tuesday’s friendly in Luxembourg will be to keep a clean sheet. 

Manning, meanwhile, was not the only Irish player asked to play a different role for Ireland on Friday night. Though Adam Idah plays up front for Celtic too, his job spec for Ireland is very different to that which is designed by Brendan Rodgers. 

“Adam deserved to start”, said Hallgrimsson, “and he did a solid performance, his workrate was I thought better than often before.

“Because we need a lot of defending from our strikers and he’s just not used to it at Celtic when they have their possession at say 60/70/80 percent in games. So the space he needs to work on in games is small. It’s a switch and hopefully players are learning more and more and he is growing. He knows what we expect so that’s a positive sign.” 

There are abundant positive signs, with Ryan Manning’s recent performances chief among them.