RIGHT, JOHN O’SHEA, let’s get this out of the way at the start.
“John, as it turns out, your last game for Ireland was also Declan Rice’s last game for Ireland. Were you surprised he made the decision he did?”
“Just quickly going back to the whole saga, how he had spoken and how he had trained and played: it was disappointing from that aspect for me.
“But the way the rules are, that option was there for him and he’s taken it. We now have to move on from it, we have plenty of players wanting to come and give everything for the team and the squad and the more we get behind them players the sooner the better.”
Done.
O’Shea is in town to promote his role as the official ambassador for the Uefa U17 European Championships, taking place in Ireland from 3 May.
He was part of the Irish team that won the competition in 1998, and Colin O’Brien’s Irish side will discover their opponents for this year’s competition on 5 April, with the draw to be held in Dublin.
Prior to all of that, attention switches back to the senior squad of which O’Shea is no longer a member. Mick McCarthy announces his squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia on Thursday, and now that Rice’s absence has been confirmed, attention has switched to the players McCarthy is trying to persuade to travel the other way.
Will Keane has committed but is injured, Patrick Bamford has agreed to meet McCarthy but not in time to be part of Thursday’s squad, while Nathan Redmond has yet to agree to meet the Irish boss.
“It’s one of those things”, says O’Shea of the recruitment drive.
“Every international manager will be looking at how he can improve his squad but ultimately there shouldn’t be any chasing going on. That would be my view, that the player wants to come over and commit and once the other players in the squad see that, it will be brilliant.
“It will be everyone on board and looking forward to the new campaign.”
Somewhat lost amid the Rice coverage has been the status of Liam Kelly, the midfielder who was part of numerous provisional squads named by Martin O’Neill but, having not featured in a competitive game, declined a call-up a year ago to consider his options.
O’Shea is a teammate of Kelly’s at Reading, and the latter’s allegiances have not cropped up.
“No, he hasn’t hinted anything either way about his international career, and I’m sure he’s just concentrating getting back into the Reading team and hopefully helping the team finish strongly.”
Striker Keane is a former team-mate of O’Shea’s at Man United, and also played with his twin brother Michael, who was part of the Irish underage set-up before throwing his lot in with England.
“I would have known Will and Michael. Will was playing with England and Michael was playing with Ireland underage. So there’s been a little role reversal there!
“Fantastic lads, good fellas, and Will has had a terrible run with injuries.
“I think he picked up a bad hamstring injury at Ipswich recently, he was just after getting back in and getting a run of games. So, that’s unfortunate for him, but as I said, no more chasing, if the players want to come, great, if they don’t, they don’t.
That’s the key thing: we can ask the question, but ultimately, if the player comes, great, if he doesn’t, move on.”
Moving on.
O’Shea will be 38 at the end of next month, and has yet to decide on his plans beyond finishing out the season with Reading. Coaching, however, is on the medium-term agenda.
“I hope to give that a bash. If I haven’t learned anything over the last 20-odd years from the people that I had the pleasure to work with and played against and learned from, I‘d be disappointed if I couldn’t an impact and help improve whether it be younger kids or senior players, whatever the case may be.”
Among the young players he sees potential in is Lee O’Connor, who has followed the path he first tread in swapping Waterford for Manchester. O’Connor has been a versatile fixture of United’s youth ranks, and trained with the Irish senior squad last November.
O’Shea is excited about O’Connor’s prospects.
“I recently did a thing for MUTV, [Man United] were playing Reading U23s and I was able to watch Lee up close. Obviously other people had been talking to me about him.
“I’ve been trying to keep an eye on his career, and he was quality, top quality on the pitch. He was very comfortable: he went right-back to left-back in a breeze, it was no problem to him.
“I’m sure he’ll be thinking about the next stage for him, maybe a loan spell. He’s getting plenty of games at United.
“Look, he’s at the age now where he may be thinking, if he’s not going to be involved in and around the first-team squad yet, to have that loan spell to get increased competition and that increased experience at a higher level than the 23s and the European 19s.
“There’s plenty of time for him yet, he has a fantastic future ahead of him.”
O’Shea is tracking a few different careers, two of them in the League of Ireland.
“Dan Casey and James Talbot that are doing very well for themselves.
“James had a frustrating time at Sunderland but he has made a great start with Bohs. Dan obviously got a move from Bohs to Cork so I keep an eye on those two lads. They are doing well.”
What of O’Shea, does he fancy a farewell stint with his home club?
“I’m always joking with Reynie [Waterford manager Alan Reynolds] that I am going to come and take his job and take the Blues back into Europe, but he got there before me.
“Reynie is doing a fantastic job, I’ll never say never but it will be unlikely playing-wise. We’ll see but as of now I would say it’s unlikely.”
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