Heimir Hallgrimsson will expect his players to be tuned in from the first whistle as Ireland take on Armenia in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Yerevan.
Ireland were undone in the third minute against Hungary on Saturday night, continuing a trend of conceding first in competitive fixtures. They had double the trouble in their opener as they went 2-0 down early in the game.
Hallgrimsson’s side managed to save their blushes with a robust second-half performance as goals from Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah helped secure an opening point.
The manager expects Armenia to come out on the front foot tomorrow evening as they have benefited from more downtime between games, having faced Portugal at home in their opener, while Ireland spent Sunday making the trek to the other side of the continent.
"We’ve conceded early goals in three games of late and they probably fancy their chances in the beginning, so we need to be ready from kick-off," said Hallgrimsson, speaking at the pre-match press conference.
"Obviously, they will have more power in the beginning, I would guess, with an extra day to recover. We just need to be ready for that."
Hallgrimsson confirmed that everyone who travelled is available for selection, with Shamrock Rovers' Josh Honohan coming into the squad in place of the injured Sammir Szmodics, however, fatigue will be assessed ahead of the game.
"We will do some checks on certain players, and I know nobody will ask to start if he's not ready to do it, it's honest players we have in the squad, so it's both of them telling us the truth, how they are feeling, and we will see that as well on the training session.
"But like I said, we look fit, nobody is injured, and it was a good feeling, even though we went to win, it was a good feeling to get the point, and that helps in recovery, and everybody is eager to play the next game."
Reflecting on Saturday’s performance, Hallgrimsson said that he felt that his side controlled the game from around the 30th minute, while adding that the sending off helped his side maintain the momentum in the second half.
The Icelandic native spoke about the number of chances created, but was not too concerned with his side’s strike rate and would be more anxious if they were not creating chances.
"It's kind of what you decide to take from it. Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?" he said.
"We will obviously address some of the things that we didn't do well, but from, let's say, 30 minutes, I think we more or less controlled the game.
"We gained a good rhythm, that increased until the end, obviously going one man up was helpful, but still you've seen so many games where a team goes one man down, and you don't see it. But it really was there to be seen, that we took the control, put them under pressure.
"We had created a lot of good opportunities that we should have done better with, but it's a better problem to solve not scoring from any chances than not creating chances, so that's a little bit easier.
"Really good effort, really good character, that's what we take from this game, and bring it into this one, if we can keep on playing like we did from minute 30, I would be happy."
Regarding the Armenia threat, Hallgrimsson outlined what he expected from the home side, who are looking to bounce back after a comprehensive defeat to Portugal on Saturday.
Armenia 'a fast counter-attacking team' says Heimir Hallgrimsson ahead of the qualifier in Yerevan #rtesport @IrelandFootball #FIFAWorldCup #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/g2DcjY73GO
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 8, 2025
"We need to be solid defensively, they have good individuals that can create problems on their own, it's a fast counter-attacking team," he explained.
"I would say that's probably their biggest strength is in transition, so we need to be as good as we were second half against Hungary, don't give them spaces when they're on the ball, try to end as quickly as possible. I think that is the thing I would be mostly afraid of."
Midfielder Josh Cullen joined the manager at the top table for the pre-match press conference, and the Burnley man was asked about Ireland’s last visit to Yerevan, which ended in defeat.
"It hurt at the time and of course it hurts losing any game for your country," said Cullen. "But we’re in a new era now, we have a new mindset as a team, and we’re just looking forward to getting back out there and building on what the manager said was a positive second half [against Hungary."
Watch The Republic of Ireland play Armenia in World Cup qualifying from 4:30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra from 4:55pm.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
