Cascarino starting to see a ‘glimmer of hope’ in Hallgrímsson’s Ireland
Having previously been pessimistic about their prospects, former international striker Tony Cascarino now senses there is ‘a glimmer of hope’ that the Republic of Ireland men’s national team could be heading towards a brighter future.
From his eight games in charge of the team to date, Heimir Hallgrímsson – who was appointed as the permanent successor to Stephen Kenny last July – has guided Ireland to four wins. This includes back-to-back triumphs over Bulgaria in last month’s UEFA Nations League relegation play-offs.
While acknowledging there are still some areas that need to be addressed, Cascarino believes those victories against the Bulgarians showed there is cause for optimism amongst Irish supporters.
“There feels like there is a glimmer of hope now of something happening and developing. I was very critical of Stephen Kenny. Not of him personally, I never go personal. I thought he came with a flawed idea and the idea was to try and outplay teams,” Cascarino said.
“We didn’t get enough of the ball, we didn’t look like scoring. The best we could hope for was a draw in most games. Obviously the two back-to-back wins against Bulgaria has lifted [spirits] slightly. I look at the team and go, Nathan Collins is off the back of a really good season with Brentford. [Jake] O’Brien’s emergence has been great.
“I think [Caoimhin] Kelleher is a top keeper, always have done. I think he’ll certainly be a massive asset to Ireland in the next few years. I think there is some really good signs in there, but there is also some problems.”
One potential area of concern for Hallgrímsson is the lack of first-team club football that Ireland striker Evan Ferguson is currently experiencing. Since joining West Ham United on loan from fellow Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion at the beginning of February, the 20-year-old Meath native has managed just one start and five substitute appearances.
Yet after coming off the bench in the first leg of their aforementioned play-off with Bulgaria, he was back in the Irish starting line-up for the return fixture at the Aviva Stadium on March 23 and scored an excellent goal in a 2-1 win.
Cascarino recalled having a strong run of form for Ireland in his own playing days while simultaneously struggling to make an impact at Scottish football giants Celtic and he is hopeful Ferguson can leave his club woes behind him when he next returns to international duty.
“I played my best football for Ireland when I was having a s**t time at Celtic. I was relieved to come to Ireland. Because international football is easier than top-flight football. The only time it is really tricky is when you play the leading nations,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for him, but I’m sure coming to Ireland and putting an Ireland shirt on is a relief for him. Without a doubt. Because it was to me.”
Cascarino was in Dublin yesterday to speak to the Irish media in his capacity as an ambassador for Tonybet.com – Ireland’s newest online sportsbook and casino. As mentioned, the 88-times capped former Ireland star is a big admirer of Cork’s Jake O’Brien.
The Youghal native is seeking to nail down a regular starting spot in the Ireland team for their forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign and Cascarino believes he is capable of doing a job for Hallgrímsson in either his natural position of centre-half or on the right side of defence – where he is currently playing under David Moyes at Everton.
“I watched O’Brien play right-back, I watched him live when he came up against [Kaoru] Mitoma at Brighton. I thought ‘oh f***ing hell, that’s a test for him!’. He handled him brilliantly,” Cascarino added.
“I think he can play either role. For O’Brien, the manager can go ‘is he best suited as a right-back for me? Do I play [Matt] Doherty or do I go and play O’Brien at centre-half?’ He’s going to have those decisions, but it’s a really good problem to have.”