Heimir Hallgrímsson’s accepts Tuesday’s defeat to Armenia will raise questions over his future as Ireland manager.
And he admits Ireland’s World Cup qualification hopes are all but done now after the defeat in Yerevan which leaves the team with just one point after two games.
“Yeah, close to that,” replied Hallgrímsson when asked on RTÉ if Ireland’s qualification hopes were in the bin already.
“Everything needs to be perfect from now on. After this performance, it’s difficult to be optimistic we’ll go to Portugal and win with a performance like we did today.”
His contract runs until the end of this qualification campaign but he understands if his position comes under scrutiny now.
“Yeah, of course, that’s the job of the coach, if they [players] are not producing then of course it’s always under question. It’s understandable now, I’m not naive. It’s understandable now.
“After this performance, of course I will take the blame for this. The players need support and, yeah, we need to encourage them. They’re going now back to the club, so hopefully they come back in four weeks and ready for the next challenge.”