Kevin Doyle: Heimer Hallgrimsson must now 'take charge' of Irish job

Former Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle believes that new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson must now "take charge" of the position as his second international window comes into view.

Hallgrimsson’s reign started with back-to-back Aviva Stadium defeats to England and Greece amidst a swirl of debate about his decision to essentially to ride shotgun to former interim boss John O’Shea, who faced a grilling from the media prior to the Greece game about who was actually in charge.

It was also reported that the Iceland native had opted to focus on more on player analysis through data software rather than attending club games in person in those early weeks, something that Doyle says needs to change.

"An important couple of games coming up," the RTÉ soccer analyst said ahead of today’s squad announcement for the Nations League clashes in Finland and Greece this month.

"You can give the manager a pass, new manager, three training sessions, all that stuff, but he’s had a chance now to really see what he has, see what the group is like, see their attitude, get to know players a bit better.

"Come into these games now, Finland, they’re no better than us, worse than us on paper. We have better players.

"(It’s) time to start turning things around, for the country, for everyone, for him as a manager; take charge of this thing and do what you’ve been hired for.

'Time to start turning things around' - Kevin Doyle and Shane Long look ahead to the upcoming international window, with Ireland facing into away games against Finland and Greece #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/wHo4BxjFWc

"Regarding not going to see players playing in the first few weeks – and I don't know what he’s doing at the moment – I remember Brian Kerr when he first took over when