ASK JOHN O’SHEA to reflect on Sunderland’s defeat on Tuesday night and he immediately starts to break down his own culpability in West Ham’s opening goal.
Andy Carroll’s aerial threat is no secret and O’Shea knows he should have done better as they climbed together.
It felt like a big goal and a big defeat in Sunderland’s battle to avoid relegation. They’re four points from safety with eight games to play but now even if they win their game in hand, they will still be in the drop zone.
Next up? A brutal run which sees them face Tottenham, Everton, Man City and Chelsea in the three weeks between now and Easter Sunday.
But there’s no point in shirking blame, especially for the club captain, or in losing faith. Manager Gus Poyet threatened this week to walk away if he felt his players had given up hope and O’Shea is every bit as strident when it comes to the positive mindset.
“You’re hoping that you maintain that belief, that determination and that quality. We’ve gone down to Anfield and we were very close to picking up something from there. [On Tuesday] we created plenty of chances and we had a lot of the possession.
“You’re just hoping that if you maintain those things, results will go for you eventually.
Whether it’s one of those deflected shots going in rather than straight to the keeper, that’s what it’s going to take. But you have to maintain your belief that you’re good enough to be a Premier League player and a Premier League team. Once that stays in the dressing room, you give yourself a chance.
If it seems like an impossible task on paper, O’Shea is the first to remind you that Sunderland got themselves out of jail last season with some unexpected results.
“I remember towards the end of last season, we had to play Chelsea and Newcastle and Everton. Next thing we should have got a result at Stamford Bridge, we were very unlucky, and then we went and beat Newcastle and went and beat Everton.
“We fought very hard last year and believe me, we’ll be fighting very hard to make sure we stay in the Premier League.
“That’s definitely going to be the key because we have to maintain that belief. There’s eight games, 24 points available, and looking at the numbers through the years if we take half of those we’re going to have a very good chance of staying in the league.”
If that unity of purpose and belief had been there all season, it’s unlikely that Sunderland would be mired in so much trouble.
But the tyrannical reign of Paolo di Canio left its mark. O’Shea was one of those who fronted up and informed club owner Ellis Short that the Italian had lost the dressing room and so he was an obvious target when di Canio began to threaten revenge.
It dragged on into the new year, more than four months after di Canio’s dismissal, but O’Shea bit his tongue when faced with public potshots about his loyalty.
“If it dragged out too long, it was going to prolong what was needed in terms of the fresh start to get ourselves up the league table.
“That was always going to be the case but we tried to get on with football as quickly as possible.”
There were positives to cling to amidst the doom and gloom, not least their run to the Capital One Cup final where they led Manchester City until the 55th minute before going down 3-1.
On a personal level it gave O’Shea the opportunity to join the long list of Irishmen to lead his side out at Wembley but looking back, was it more of a distraction?
I can’t see how we can use that as an excuse because it gave us great confidence and great belief, beating these teams, getting to Wembley for the final and then putting in the performance that we did for so long against City.
“People from outside that club maybe see it as a distraction to us but when you’re winning football matches, it’s not a distraction.
“We were fully aware of where we were in the league at the time and what we had to do.”
That focus and that single-mindedness comes from years of experience of what it takes to prevail in the latter part of the season. Unlike his Manchester United days, there are no titles and trophies to be won but in the here and now, the prize is every bit as significant.
“You have to realise the situation — it would be a fantastic achievement if we can survive.
“It’s obviously a very different feeling in your head and in your stomach about what could happen. It’s definitely a different type of feeling.”
