Smallbone, who qualifies for Ireland via Kilkenny-born mother, admitted he had been embarrassed to be named player of the match versus Greece

The Republic of Ireland slipped to a second successive defeat at the start of the new Nations League campaign on Tuesday as Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side went down 2-0 to Greece at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland have won only two of the last 10 competitive games they have played stretching back to March last year and the boos which greeted the final whistle in their latest outing told their own story.

Having succumbed to early goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish at the weekend, Ireland made it to half-time against the Greeks intact, but Fotis Ioannidis broke the deadlock five minutes after the restart and Christos Tzolis sealed victory at the death.

Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone, who qualifies to play for Ireland via his Kilkenny-born mother, admitted Ioannidis’ strike had been a “sucker punch”.

He said: “It’s obviously a good finish, but that’s a real sucker punch for us after a positive first half.

“We’ve only been with the manager a week and he’s got new ideas, we are coming together from our clubs. We all want results to turn around as quickly as possible, but I think especially the first half was a positive.”

That said, Smallbone admitted he had been embarrassed to be named player of the match, a decision which was greeted by jeers from a rapidly receding crowd when it was announced as time ran down.

He said: “I’m probably as embarrassed as anyone, receiving a man-of-the-match award when we’ve lost a game. I’m not sure why it’s done, but it is and I can’t control it. It’s not my decision.

“But we understand the fans’ reaction and we are working as hard as we can to turn it around and I believe we will.”