Keith Treacy: Heimir Hallgrimsson's 'maybe too relaxed' remark is telling about Ireland squad mindset

Keith Treacy feels a passing remark from Heimir Hallgrimsson about his Republic of Ireland squad being "maybe too relaxed" in the build-up to last Thursday's 1-0 win over Finland does not cast the players' collective mindset in the best light.

The Boys in Green may have gone on to beat the Finns at the Aviva Stadium but the Ireland manager himself acknowledged post-match that there was some luck involved considering the number of chances the Nordic nation fashioned.

With a second victory of the campaign in the bag, Ireland then made the daunting trip to Wembley on Sunday and the first half performance in which they kept England at bay proved promising.

But the second-half collapse after Liam Scales' second yellow card and Harry Kane's converted penalty saw the Irish side's resolve torn asunder in a 5-0 defeat.

Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast as he reflected on the November window as a whole, former Ireland winger Treacy felt the second-half showing at Wembley was indicative of deeper-rooted shortcomings that were exposed in adversity and contrasted with the mindset of the current generation's predecessors.

And with hindsight, he felt that Hallgrimsson's quip to Virgin Media's Ann-Marie Keegan three days earlier about the squad being "maybe too relaxed in my opinion" was more revealing than originally intended.

"It was very telling when Heimir did his interview before the Finland game. He'd just been in the dressing room and (said) it's a bit relaxed, 'maybe a bit too relaxed for me,'" said Treacy.

"I know he's pulled back on them comments but it looked like a very relaxed performance.

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