Republic of Ireland shirt 'too heavy' for some players

Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says his team are lacking in confidence and that the Republic of Ireland shirt is metaphorically "too heavy" for some players.

After defeat by England on Saturday, the Republic of Ireland's difficult start to the Nations League continued as Greece ran out 2-0 winners in Dublin.

Fotis Ioannidis and Christos Tzolis netted for Greece after Chiedozie Ogbene had a first-half effort ruled out for the hosts.

The defeat was a fourth competitive loss in a row and means the Irish have only won three of their last 15 matches - with two those of those victories coming over minnows Gibraltar.

"It's a confidence thing. It feels like maybe the jersey is a little bit too heavy for some players," said former Iceland manager Hallgrimsson, whose first match in charge was the loss to England.

"When they put it on they don't maybe show the same quality as they do for their clubs. We just need to change that."

Hallgrimsson, who added he is a "sore loser", said he felt better about the organisation of his side in the first half against Greece, compared to the first 90 minutes of his reign against England.

He added that the Republic were "punished" for not taking their chances before Ioannidis' superb opener early in the first half.

"That happens to teams who are lacking confidence. It's the details in decision making, etc," said the 57-year-old.

"Greece are a team who are difficult to play against when they are one goal ahead.

"It was tough when we conceded the first goal because I thought we played pretty well until then. The first half was good in the eyes of organisation and compactness.

"We didn't give them chances and had really good options when we were going forward."

With fixtures away to Finland and Greece to come in October, Hallgrimsson said he needed to find a swift solution to the issues facing the Irish.

"The solution is to find these connections and the understanding between the players," he said.

"My job is to turn this around - nobody told me it was going to be an easy job.

"I know it is going to take time but I feel that the first step is positive. Even though we lost the two games I feel that the first step is positive."