IT wasn't the dream start for new Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson on Saturday, but it's straight back to action this evening when the Boys in Green host Greece in their second League B, Group 2 game (7.45pm).

Goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish compounded the misery for Irish fans at the weekend in a game they were very much second best, but it was always going to be a big ask against a team ranked fourth in the world and reached he final of the European Championships.

With the hype that comes along with games against England, expectations were always going to be impossibly high but Hallgrímsson did feel his side improved as the game went on and insists he won't be hitting the panic button after their weekend loss.

"We have played a good team that exposed our weakness, so we can use a lot from this game," he said afterwards.

"You can react in two ways when you lose a game: You can restart, do something totally different next time that will probably not get you anywhere. We tried to do something and we did the second half much better with more initiative, got a bit higher.

"I think we can learn from this and improve step by step instead of changing personnel and formation for the next game."

Greece enjoyed a much better start to their Nations League campaign with a 3-0 home win over Finland at the weekend.

Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis netted twice and they were also assisted by a Benjamin Kallman own goal, so will arrive in Dublin full of confidence.

They have happy memories of the Aviva Stadium as they followed a 2-1 home win in the Euro qualifiers last year with a 2-0 win on away soil as Giorgos Giakoumakis and Giorgos Masouras found the net.

They will again pose a tough test for Ireland but Hallgrímsson is hopeful his players will park their weekend disappointment and come in with renewed vigour as they seek a much needed boost following a difficult period.

"We really wanted a result against England, but I think most of us are unhappy as we wanted a better performance," he admitted.

"We talked in the dressing room to look positive at the next two games. This was a negative and we can't carry that into the game against Greece.

"Greece have shown that they play good against Ireland and have the upper hand, so we need to change that. We can't be crying until we play Greece; we need to energise and use every moment to be ready for that one."