Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson drops call-up hint as Shamrock Rovers stars shine in Europe
Heimir Hallgrímsson has been impressed by Shamrock Rovers’ sensational form in the Europa Conference League.
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has suggested that ‘two or three’ of Shamrock Rovers’ European heroes could come into international contention next year.
And he reckons some of the players could secure big moves as a result of their success.
The Hoops have already secured a historic spot in the knockout rounds of the Europa Conference League, having collected 11 points from 15 so far in the league phase.
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Sitting in sixth place out of 36, they go to Stamford Bridge next week knowing they could leap-frog the play-off round and go straight into the last-16, regardless of their result against Chelsea.
Defeat would, however, leave them relying on outcomes in several other fixtures in their bid to secure a top-eight finish.
The form of Rovers’ players hasn’t escaped Hallgrímsson’s attention, however, with the Ireland manager expressing his admiration for their record-breaking achievements.
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“Yeah, impressive, just respect and compliments to them, they are doing good for Irish football, leading the way, and I think as well others will try to copy elements of what they are doing,” he said on Friday, in the wake of Rovers’ 3-0 win over Bosnian side Borac.
As for potential call-ups, Hallgrímsson added: “Yeah, good players, impressive performance (on Thursday), two or three really good performances.
“I’m not going to count the names, it would put pressure on the players or me, but it is obviously good if they are playing well all season.
“(It would be) easier to pick them if they are playing regularly before the national team comes together, but I’m pretty sure a lot of teams in Europe are watching them, ‘who are these guys’ going this far, doing this good in the tournament’.
“So probably there is a lot of scouting on those players at the moment so hopefully they will get career change from this success.”
Two players unlikely to be at Rovers in the new year are striker Johnny Kenny, whose five goals to date have him as the tournament’s joint top scorer, and wing-back Neil Farrugia.
Kenny will likely return to Celtic when his loan move expires at the end of the year, while Farrugia’s contract has almost expired. A former Ireland Under-21 international, Farrugia also qualifies to play for Malta.
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