Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says he had “no doubt” about drafting Matt Doherty into his squad for the Nations League matches against Finland and England.
The Wolves defender was called into the group for the double-header after captain Seamus Coleman withdrew because of injury, with another full-back, Southampton’s Ryan Manning also added.
The 32-year-old was omitted from Hallgrimsson’s squad for last month’s 2-1 win over Finland and 2-0 defeat by Greece, and was also left out of the Icelandic manager’s original panel for this international window.
The Republic face Finland in Dublin on Thursday and then play England at Wembley on Sunday to conclude their League B2 campaign.
“Just to answer on Matt, we always said we did not want to have both Matt and Seamus at the same time, to think a little bit for the future, so missing Seamus, and Shane Duffy too, two really experienced players, no doubt in my mind that Matt was the replacement there,” explained Hallgrimsson.
The Republic of Ireland boss says his relationship with Doherty remains good despite the player’s absence from recent squads.
“It has been quite pleasant. He is a nice guy,” he added.
The Irish will avoid relegation from Nations League B if they avoid defeat by the Finns at the Aviva Stadium.
Keane visit ‘a good thing’
Meanwhile, Hallgrimsson believes inviting Robbie Keane to address the squad on Monday was “a good thing”, saying he was unaware of the controversy surrounding the former Republic captain’s visit to the camp.
Keane, his country’s record caps winner and goalscorer, met the current group and handed out caps to players ahead of the two forthcoming Nations League games.
The 44-year-old’s trip attracted some criticism on social media following his decision to remain Maccabi Tel Aviv manager after the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following the 7 October 2023 attacks.
He left that role in June, after helping the club secure the league title.
“I wouldn’t know. I am not the best to answer that,” Hallgrimsson initially told reporters.
After the reason was explained to him, he added: “I didn’t know about it.”
Hallgrimsson went on to praise the motivating message the former Premier League star delivered to his charges.
“He had a good speech. The players were asking him questions. I think it is good to connect past players, the legends from the past to the present.
“What was really good was how he, as a goalscorer, a really high-profile player at his time, was talking about the importance of team unity, fighting for each other, team spirit.
“It was probably not what you would think a striker would say, scoring all his goals, but I think it was a really good message to the players.”