Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson hopes experienced defender Shane Duffy will bring “steel and leadership” after being recalled to the squad for the forthcoming Nations League matches against Finland and England.
The 32-year-old central defender has been included in a 23-man group for the Group B2 fixtures against the Finns at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 14 November and the trip to Wembley three days later.
The Norwich City player’s only appearance for the Republic in the past 12 months came in a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary in June under then interim head coach John O’Shea.
His impressive club form in the Championship has seen him regain a place in the squad and his international boss believes the 61-times capped defender can bring some qualities that the Irish side was missing in their win over Finland and defeat in Greece in the last international window in October.
“I wanted to see the upcoming exciting younger centre-backs so in the beginning we went for younger players but I felt – especially last camp and before – there were some areas we can improve,” said Hallgrimsson.
“For example, we lost a lot of duels, especially against Greece in the first half, and his leadership, his character will probably help us in that area.
“It’s good to see what he brings in and I hope they will be the attributes he will come in with, with leadership, a little bit more steel and winning duels, especially set-pieces, etc.
Hallgrimsson will be without Ipswich forward Chiedozie Ogbene for the upcoming double-header as he faces up to eight months out of action after undergoing Achilles surgery.
“It seems to be happening more and more that players get long-term injuries. I don’t know if it’s because of the load on players,” said Hallgrimsson.
“I know he is strong enough to come back mentally. It’s just how physically he will react to this. Hopefully his recovery will be good.”
The Republic manager has versatile 22-year-old defender Festy Ebosele available, however.
The Watford player, on loan from Serie A club Udinese, has impressed Hallgrimsson with his displays at club and international level.
“Festy is a little bit of a different kind of player – really exciting. He can do things that really blow your mind.
“The last game for Watford he played right-back for the first half and left-back for the second half and was good at both.
“He is really good going forward and there aren’t many that have his speed. He can play a lot of roles. In the Greece game he started as a winger and ended up as a full-back. It’s good to have a player that you can move and tweak during a game.”
