WILL SMALLBONE believes Heimir Hallgrimsson is pointing Ireland in the right direction — and towards the World Cup.
The Boys in Green drew 1-1 with Senegal last night after Kasey McAteer’s opener was cancelled out by Ismaila Sarr in the second half.
But Smallbone felt it was a giant step in the right direction — as Hallgrimsson’s directions were followed down to a tee.
The Southampton midfielder said: “The manager has made it clear what he wants from people throughout the week.
“I was only in Heimir’s first camp so that was very new for everyone and I missed the next three camps.
“To then come back into it was very similar messages but it all seems very clear and concise.
“That makes it easier as a player when you know exactly what the manager wants from you and you just have to go out and do your best to deliver it.”
And he believes that, even though Ireland were held by Senegal, he has brought a winning culture into the squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
Smallbone added: “I think he wants to create a winning habit and you see the way he talks about getting to the World Cup.
“It’s obviously the aim for everyone.
“Winning is the only way we can get there. So it is about coming out on top in games in the past we maybe would have lost by a goal to switch it the other way to win by a goal.
“He put an emphasis on set-pieces and making sure we’re a threat whenever we get one.
“If you look at Irish teams in the past, they’ve always been built very big on set-pieces and making the Aviva a really tough place to come to.
“So I think that’s what we’ve to get back to.
“The more I play football, the more I go into my career and see that winning is what gets remembered.
“It is ultimately what is going to get us to the World Cup. I think if the game is scrappy and it’s a one goal game, we need to make sure it’s us that gets the goal.”
‘DISAPPOINTING’
Ireland were not far off that against Senegal — a team ranked 19th in the world who are now on a 21-game unbeaten run.
Hallgrimsson’s men dominated the first half and looked on course for a win even as they rode their luck in the second half before Sarr’s equaliser.
Midfielder Smallbone added: “The goal for every game is to win, at times performances have been good but winning has not been there. So the main thing is just winning.
“Maybe in the past we’ve got good performances but we need to make sure we’re winning to get to these tournaments.
“So obviously a draw is disappointing but Senegal are a top nation so I think it is a step in the right direction.
“I think it’s a good result against a strong team that has been unbeaten for such a long time.
“I think we can come away from it with lots of positives but a few things we need to improve on.
“I think these summer camps have been a bit of a struggle sometimes, where we’ve had a long time off and we’ve been coming in and been trying to get up to speed.
“I’ve noticed a real high quality and high intensity throughout the whole week.
“And I think that it was showing in the performance.”
