Greek coach Ivan Jovanovic respects Irish tradition ahead of Aviva Stadium clash

Ivan Jovanovic says he respects the Republic of Ireland ahead of tomorrow's clash at the Aviva Stadium, despite his predecessor Gus Poyet guiding the Greeks to consecutive victories over the Boys in Green last year.

Jovanovic's side cruised to a 3-0 home win over Finland on Saturday evening in the Serbian head coach’s first game in charge, as Ireland slipped to a 2-0 defeat by England in Dublin.

Greece and Ireland know each other well after being pitched into battle in Euro 2024 qualification, and it was the Greeks who came out on top on both occasions.

Nevertheless, Jovanovic is steeling himself for a stern examination as opposite number Heimir Hallgrimsson targets a first win as Ireland's head coach.

He said: "We have a lot of respect for the Irish team, not only the Irish, but the tradition of the Irish and their fans coming and supporting the team. This doesn’t change and the respect of the team towards the Irish team doesn’t change at all."

Those Ireland fans will hope for significant improvement after a demoralising defeat by England at the weekend during which Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored within the opening 26 minutes to effectively secure victory for the visitors.

Asked what he had made of their performance in Hallgrimsson’s first game at the helm, Jovanovic replied: "It was a difficult match for Ireland.

"It was difficult because England showed confidence in the match from the start, they controlled the game early, and the early goal looked like it forced the Irish team back a bit.

"Despite that, you could tell from the match that Ireland were in it until quite towards the end. It wasn’t over early, so despite the early goal forcing them back, Ireland were in it until quite late."

Watch Republic of Ireland v