Heimir Hallgrimsson tells Ireland players to park celebrations and focus on Greece

Ireland will play Greece at the Karaiskakis Stadium - home of Olympiakos - in Piraeus on Sunday night at 7.45pm

Highs have been so hard to come by, it’s no wonder there was such an outpouring of emotion on the final whistle in Helsinki.

The 1,000 travelling Ireland fans were housed behind a corner flag at the end where Robbie Brady pounced for his 88th minute winner.

Players raced in unison towards them on the final whistle, whooping and hollering as if they had just qualified for a major tournament - it meant that much.

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When the players eventually retired to the changing room, Heimir Hallgrimsson appeared back on the pitch.

He slowly walked up the touchline to the fans, who were being held back in what was now a near-empty stadium.

He tapped the Ireland crest on his jacket, gently pumped his fist in the air a couple of times and then blew the fans a kiss.

Some responded with an impromptu but mangled chant of his name, a five-syllable sandwich that doesn’t lend itself to rolling off the tongue.

If he keeps winning matches, they will no doubt pen something more appropriate.

Afterwards, Hallgrimsson revealed he had never experienced a connection like it, as Iceland and Jamaica fans wouldn’t travel to games in such numbers.

But the monkey is off his back, after notching a first win in his third game, silencing critics like Richard Dunne who claimed he might be sacked with two defeats this week.

That made no sense at all, but there’s also a big difference between silencing critics and answering them. One is a temporary measure, the other more permanent.

So Hallgrimson knows he and his players cannot afford to get away with one good day at the office.

It was a confidence booster for sure, but it’s premature in the extreme to say Ireland have turned a corner.

Thursday’s result digs the Boys in Green out of a bind, but it was also FIFA’s 62nd-ranked team beating the 64th-ranked side.

Just as Ireland are an average team, so too are a limited Finland who were fortunate to be 1-0 up and then couldn’t pull clear when other chances fell their way.

They were weak opponents, so Ireland’s result needs to be viewed in context going into tomorrow’s far more taxing test against familiar Greek foes.

Big highs tend to be followed by sobering reality checks and while Hallgrimsson enjoyed the moment, he knows he must keep his players grounded.

“It’s all about the things we’re doing and we need to keep on doing. We need to improve,” he said.

“It’s not about the result, it’s not about ‘we are flying’, it’s about what we are doing, the principles we are trying to implement, that we are always consistent in improving those. Then success will follow.”

Assessing Thursday’s performance in Finland, Hallgrimsson identified those specific areas for improvement as he feels his team were too indecisive.

“They were not pressing when they should be pressing, they were not taking the decision and going for it,” he said.

“That’s something we need to improve, and it’s the same when we’re attacking.

“We had really good play and got into good positions but we didn’t finish so it looked like we didn’t believe in what we were doing.

“The second-half was totally different, we were much more direct and it resulted in more goal-scoring chances and shots on goal.”

While one, long overdue win doesn’t mark a turning point, it’s a timely boost all the same for a side that had grown accustomed to the misery of defeat.

Now they can attack the Greece game with pep in their step, but so too can the hosts after their shock 2-1 win away to England on Thursday.

Lee Carsley was the one-time front runner to succeed Stephen Kenny as Ireland manager, only to rule himself out of the running.

England’s U21 boss knew there was a chance of a promotion to senior ranks with Gareth Southgate making way, but that chance looks like it’s gone now.

Between the anthem-gate takedown and now this Greek tragedy, Carsley finds himself well down the pecking order.

Ireland, on the other hand, will wonder if their fortunes are starting to look up with the new manager far happier with all aspects of this camp than a month ago.

Hallgrimsson feels there is scope for steady improvement and ahead of tomorrow’s clash, said: “The win on Thursday doesn’t put as much pressure on the next game.

“The players are probably a bit relieved that we won the game. Again, it’s down to margins. We need to improve on what we’re doing.

“We’re still giving away chances. At times we looked open and indecisive in actions. We just need to continue being confident.

“We showed them a lot of good clips from games and training, what they were doing (well), and we’ll have even more clips from Finland that we can build on.”

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Heimir Hallgrimsson is backing his Ireland players to bring the fight to Greece now that confidence is soaring.

Fresh from Thursday’s 2-1 win away to Finland, the Boys in Green touched down in sweltering Athens last night.

Temperatures will hit 31 degrees today with Ireland facing familiar foes at Olympiakos’ stadium in Piraeus tomorrow, a suburb just outside the Greek capital.

Hallgrimsson hopes the Helsinki win is a turning point and said: “Greece will be a tough opponent, a really tough opponent to play against.

“But I hope we can build on the good things that we did and bring it with us to Greece. We've got some tired legs, so we need to recover as quickly as possible and be ready.”

Greece banked an impressive 2-1 win over England at Wembley on Thursday, on an emotional night following the tragic death of Greek international George Baldock.

The English-born defender played in Greece’s 2-1 win over Stephen Kenny’s Irish side in Athens last summer.

Greece also won 2-0 in Dublin last month and Hallgrimsson said: “They have been a really tough opponent for Ireland. But when we played them in Dublin, I felt it was pretty even and it was down to margins.

“They scored from their chances and we didn’t, that was the difference in my opinion. But I know they are tough.

“Beating England will give them a lot of confidence. It was an emotional game, losing George Baldock, and we send his family all of our respects and good wishes.”

Luton Town defender Mark McGuinness wasn’t involved against Finland as he rolled his ankle at training on Wednesday.

But he has been passed fit to take his place on the bench against Greece, while Hallgrimsson is confident that Chiedozie Ogbene can also shake off a minor knock.

The Icelander wants a settled team where he can pick the same players, game after game, so they develop a good understanding.

And with that in mind, he was asked if he will make changes tomorrow but said: “I don’t know. We’ll make that decision and have a final training session in Greece.

“Everybody wants to play now, and will push themselves to play, but I’m consistent in what I say.

“The confidence grows when you know the player next to you. He knows exactly how you will react and he’ll cover whatever decision you make.

“We just have to make the decisions quicker and execute what we are doing a little bit quicker than we are doing.”

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