Charming, adapatable but ruthless: The Icelandic insight into new Ireland boss Heimir Halgrimsson

It's fair to say that the identity of the long-awaited (very, very, very long x100) new Republic of Ireland manager took many people here by surprise.

Plenty of other names had been thrust forward over the past eight months but among the likes of Lee Carsley, Willy Sagnol, Gus Poyet, Roy Keane, Chris Hughton, Neil Lennon, Slaven Bilic, Chris Coleman, Anthony Barry and Anthony Hudson - just to name a fraction of those linked with the role at various stages - Heimir Hallgrimsson's name never really featured on the tip of any tongues.

But Wednesday's announcement that the Iceland native would become Stephen Kenny's permanent successor on a deal running until the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has also taken his own countrymen by surprise as Icelandic sports journalist Jóhann Ingi Hafþórsson of the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið outlined to RTÉ Sport on Friday.

He said the expectation in Iceland was that Hallgrimsson would remain in charge of Jamaica despite the early exit from the ongoing Copa America.

That being said, there is plenty of pride among Icelandic fans to see him get the Boys in Green job.

"It's definitely the biggest job of his career. We're super happy for him because he's a big hero and also I think he wanted to get back to Europe to be closer to home and we're delighted for him and we're absolutely sure he will give his absolute best and when he does his best, good things will happen," said Hafþórsson.

Hallgrimsson cut his coaching teeth in his native Iceland, going from the club scene in both the men's and women's game for his local club ÍBV before working his way up the ranks of the senior national team during the Nordic nation's recent major tournament-qualifying golden era.

But what can be gleaned