Carsley: O’Shea will become a jewel in defence for Ireland
United beat Everton 3-0 at Old Trafford on Monday and Carsley said that O'Shea, who was centre-back alongside Laurent Blanc, had confirmed the impression he had formed of the Waterford-born defender.
"You are often too busy with your own game to be able to form an opinion of an opponent unless you go head-to-head," Carsley said, "and sometimes it is not the hardest thing to do to impress when you play with a team as good as Man Utd.
"But young John O'Shea has impressed me hugely, playing and training with Ireland. He is going to be a big star of the future at international level. The upbringing he is getting at Old Trafford will stand to him because he is getting the best possible grounding there while working with a great squad of players.
"He will make the transition into international football very comfortably and go on to become a star of the team."
O'Shea has had only one appearance with Ireland, as substitute against Croatia, but has been involved in the senior squad several times. He and Carsley are in the squad of 21 for the match against Switzerland in Dublin on Wednesday.
Everton provided United with stubborn resistance until the 86th minute, when a late flurry of goals gave United a flattering 3-0 win. Everton went close to holding out for a surprise draw and their form confirmed their recent improvement.
"I did not think at the time that we were hanging on or anything when they scored, but upon reflection, I suppose they had so much of the ball that something had to give," Carsley said.
He played on the right of an Everton midfield that operated from a diamond formation, and while he is more used to a central position when he plays for Ireland, he said he was enjoying his new role.
"I don't think the change of role really matters" he said, "what it has done for me is to give me more chances of getting forward. The manager has kept the same formation for the last three games and I'm expected to do a lot of running around. But I've always had a good engine and I enjoy that."
Carsley signed a four-year contract with Everton when he was signed from Coventry City for £1.9 million last season. But he was left on the sidelines at the start of the new season when new manager David Moyes took over.
"Of course it is a worry when you are not in the team, but I figured the manager would have to spend some time getting to know the staff. He has been trying different combinations in midfield and he switched players about a lot, but he has left the formation unchanged now for the last three games and we have benefited."
Everton face Arsenal next, so it was too early for Carsley to offer an opinion as to the respective merits of Arsenal and United, but he said: "I think it is obvious they are both miles above everybody else in the league.
"I just do not think anybody can match them at the moment and United were very powerful against us. They have top-class players in every position and they make it very hard for you to get hold of the game."
Carsley, 28, was capped 21 times for Ireland, and will, most likely, be a substitute for the game against Switzerland. It is a role to which he has grown accustomed since the emergence of Mark Kinsella (Villa) and Matt Holland (Ipswich) after spending a couple of years as first choice after winning his first cap in 1997.
He was on the bench when Ireland lost to Russia last month in Moscow and he said: "We gave away some sloppy goals against Russia and that came as a surprise because defending was our forte.
"We were always proud of our defensive record and we made a habit of not conceding a goal, so hopefully we can get back to that against Switzerland.
"It proved what the manager had been saying now we have climbed up in the rankings, we cannot expect to surprise people anymore.
"We need a win to set the ball rolling if we are to get to the finals in Portugal in two years time."
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