Hallgrímsson explains why Matt Doherty isn’t in Ireland squad and admits ‘he was not happy’

The Wolves right back was a surprise exclusion from the Republic of Ireland manager's second squad announcement.

Everton youngster Jake O’Brien was also left out of the squad announcement, despite being called up for the games against England and Greece last month, along with Tom Cannon who scored four goals for Stoke City on Wednesday evening.

It was a good day for Luton Town centre-half Mark McGuinness who received his first Republic of Ireland call-up in replacement of the injured Seamus Coleman and Will Smallbone.

Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath and West Bromwich Albion winger Mikey Johnston both return to the Ireland camp after being left out last time around, while Watford right-back Festy Ebosele is also included.

Speaking at a press conference in Dublin yesterday, Ireland's new Icelandic manager explained that the reason members of the old guard like Doherty and Coleman aren't included this time around is so that some of the emerging talent can get a chance to show their potential and gain some more experience ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.

"We knew this question would come," said Hallgrímsson. "We know that Matt and Séamus have been here for a long time in the squad. They are our most experienced fullbacks, playing at the highest level for a long time.

"But unfortunately they will not play forever, so we need to have a Plan B if they are not there."

He continued: "My job is to get this team to the World Cup in the US in 2026, and given that next year, 2025, if we end up in a group with five nations, all our Fifa windows next year will be official World Cup matches, so this is the only chance to experiment, to give players a chance to show what they can do.

"That is the reason we opted to go for other players at this stage."

Hallgrímsson added that Doherty was upset but took the news with professionalism.

"I called Matt yesterday. Obviously he deserves that. He was not happy, of course, he wants to play every game for Ireland, but I just assured him that it’s not like we are leaving him out, we’re just testing other players.

"Because of his experience as well, [we decided] not to bring him in to have him on the bench. It’s better just to give him this camp off."