Alan Browne spells out what Ireland are missing as Sunderland man reflects on Nations League defeats
Ireland suffered back-to-back two-goal home defeats to England and Greece
Alan Browne has dismissed the notion that Ireland are lacking leaders.
However, the Sunderland man has acknowledged - in the wake of defeats to England and Greece - that there is something missing in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad.
Browne came off the bench in the Nations League opener last Saturday against England and then played the full 90 minutes against Greece on Tuesday night.
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Former international Gary Breen wrote on Monday of how his Ireland side was packed with club captains, who could “change the tempo of a game” and “were also very cutting and forceful with words if momentum was being lost.”
However, midfielder Browne insisted: “I think there are quite a lot of leaders in there.
“I think there are quite a lot of players who have captained their club or captained their country.
“If you look at the team, there are a good few in there.”
Then he pointed to what was missing, adding: “We probably don’t have that presence, that Premier League quality player that stands out a mile from the rest, like you might have had in years gone by.
“Boys are playing in the Prem and doing quite well, but we don’t have that world-class figure that everyone looks at and thinks he is going to win us the game.
“I know Evan (Ferguson) has obviously got a bright future, but it is a lot to put on his shoulders, being so young. And at the minute, he hasn’t played a lot of football.
“Yeah, you are probably just missing that presence rather than leadership.”
Browne admitted that it was another frustrating night against Greece, which was the team’s 10th defeat in their last 16 games, since the start of 2023.
In competitive action, they have lost eight of their last 10, with wins over Gibraltar the only exceptions.
“It was quite a close contest and then the goal was a sucker punch,” he said of Tuesday night’s loss. “I don't think they (Greece) had many chances prior to that.
“It seems to be the same old story with us, we keep coming out the wrong side of these games where we really need to be winning them.
“We keep leaving ourselves with a mountain to climb as the group progresses.
“It's not over, a long way from it, but it's just deflating when you feel like you're in the game and then they get a goal from nothing. It's a great finish but we need to defend it better.”
Browne agreed with new boss Hallgrímsson’s assertion that losing had become a habit for his players.
“He did touch on that to be fair and it seems like that at the minute,” said the Corkman.
“We are stuck in a habit of losing and we need to get out of it as quickly as possible because it is deflating every game.
“It's deflating for the fans watching, we were well in the game and the goal is a sucker punch but from there we don't really trouble them too much until the last 10-15.”
And while he admitted that Greece’s opener on Tuesday came “out of nothing”, he added that it but a serious dent in the players’ confidence.
“From there it can play on people's minds, we've been here before, we've been well in games and then they get their goal and from there it's a long way back,” he said.
“It does (affect confidence) because goals win games. It doesn't matter how well or how poorly you play. Results are the most important thing.
“That's what we need to get into the habit of, whatever way it looks we need to win games. We haven't done that for a long time.
“We haven't grinded out result, we haven't dominated games and got results.
“Whatever way we've played and however it's looked, we've always come out on the wrong side, more or less.”
Browne is hopeful that Hallgrímsson can turn things around in time, but he expects more challenges next month when the Boys in Green travel to Finland and Greece.
“Obviously he can do more and he will do more when he has more time with us,” said Browne.
“For a manager to come in and be given a week to prepare for two games, it is really tough.
“I think the messages he has given us have been quite good and we have tried to deliver on them to the best of our ability.
“But I think in the end the quality has let us down and that seemed to be the difference tonight, one chance and they stick it in the top corner.”
He added: “It doesn’t get easier and that is especially why we need to be winning that game (at home to Greece).
“The England one was always going to be a tough ask with their quality, we never really looked like winning that.
“And then tonight, this was the one we needed to be winning to keep ourselves in a good position and we failed to do so.
“Yeah, it doesn’t get any easier, it will be a tough month, but we always go away, come back and reflect on it and go into the camp with confidence.
“But we do really need to be doing better. We need to step up in these games.”
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