O'Shea: I didn't sleep well after Cyprus defeat

John O’Shea insists sacrifices will be made to ensure the Republic of Ireland do not suffer further humiliation on Wednesday.

Ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifying clash with the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road, the fall-out from Saturday’s humiliating defeat by Cyprus continues to provide a harrowing backdrop for under-fire manager Steve Staunton.

Following the 5-2 loss to a team ranked 60 places below his side in the FIFA standings, Staunton returned to Dublin to be greeted by a barrage of criticism and calls for his head.

After just five games in charge, with the last four all ending in defeat, Staunton surely never anticipated his managerial honeymoon would be so short-lived.

At least Staunton and Ireland quickly have the opportunity to show they are not as bad as they were at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

Without a point from their campaign so far, Staunton’s Ireland now need to bare their teeth against the Czechs, who top Group D with maximum points from three matches.

On the face of it, playing a Czech team in form hardly constitutes the ideal opposition for Ireland to correct the untold errors of their ways.

But in many respects, just such a test is exactly what they need, with O’Shea believing he and his team-mates will be up for the fight.

“We’re lucky we’ve a game on Wednesday to put things right,” said O’Shea, who operated at left-back against the Cypriots.

“What happened on Saturday was the worst defeat in a long, long time, if ever. I know I didn’t sleep well after it.

“I played things over in my mind, every single thing, trying to work out what went wrong.

“After going 1-0 up, everyone must have thought it was going to be a cruise, and our concentration levels dropped.

“All the coaching in the world cannot account for the individual errors that were made, and that is what cost us.

“At vital times when we needed to stay tight, keep control of the game, we didn’t do that. That’s what we are now going to have to do if we’re to get out of this group.

“We have to make sure we try to keep a clean sheet on Wednesday, that we sacrifice everything and give everything to get a positive result.”

Staunton yesterday cancelled a warm-down training session, instead calling a team meeting during which players and staff openly aired their views as they sifted through the wreckage of a footballing disaster.

“We got everything out in the open, which was good following a heavy defeat like that,” added the Manchester United defender.

“There was give and take, but what was said between the staff and players will remain behind closed doors.

“We obviously talked about the disappointment of such a bad defeat when we were looking to get three points from the game.

“That disappointment still lingers because we let ourselves down, the staff, and more importantly the fans.

“These things happen now and again. That’s when you have to bounce back and make sure you show your character as an individual and as a team, and we plan on doing that.”

O’Shea was part of a back five even Staunton conceded “looked like they had never played together before”.

Yet the 25-year-old knows there can now be no looking back as he added: “It’s easy to blame one area, but we take defeat as a team.

“It’s okay saying we were shambolic, that it was a terrible night and a terrible performance, and I admit it’s probably the worst result of my career.

“We’re clearly all devastated, but the game’s gone, we have to get on with things and look forward to what is a massive game with the Czech Republic.”

On the evidence of Saturday’s woeful display, only the most optimistic can see Ireland qualifying for the finals.

“We have to believe we can, otherwise we might as well not show up for the rest of the games,” insisted O’Shea.

“We’ve given ourselves an uphill task, it’s a very steep hill to climb to qualify, but we have to give it a go.

“It’s what the players will demand, the staff will demand, and mostly what the fans will demand too.”