Dara O'Shea: We just want a manager who understands Irish football
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS: Waterford's John O'Shea did his prospects of landing the Republic of Ireland manager's job no harm at all on Saturday when his side were unlucky to play out a 0-0 draw with Belgium in Dublin. Photo: Inpho.
Ireland’s 2018 win over USA was supposed to mark the guard changing with John O’Shea bowing out and Declan Rice tipped for leadership in his absence.
During the run-up to his 118th and final cap on that June evening, it was widely felt the teen would join O’Shea in the centurion club. The veteran spoke of Rice as the future skipper.
Tonight sees the midfielder finally don the armband alright – but for England – while it could be the final time O’Shea manages his country. Sometimes life doesn't seem fair.
Loyal servant O’Shea was never going to reject an invite to assume caretaker charge when the phonecall came four weeks ago from director of football Marc Canham.
Whatever glitch prevented the FAI from announcing their permanent successor to Stephen Kenny necessitated a Plan B with the clock ticking towards this window.
Needs must. Last September, as the Kenny era descended to the point of no return from defeats to France and Netherlands, the brains trust of the FAI assessed their options.
Although a clause to sack the incumbent without full compensation liable was sensibly inserted into his 2022 contract extension, alternatives were scarce.
Lee Carsley had begun another qualifying campaign managing England’s U21 Euro champions and O'Shea lack of managerial experience turned the powerbrokers off assigning Kenny’s latest No 3 the task of completing the year on an interim basis.
He’s since expanded his coaching portfolio with a rather bruising end to his spell flanking Wayne Rooney at Birmingham City.
The FAI needed a stopgap and O’Shea was available and willing to oblige.
So far, so steady. No gaffes, disputes, disquiet or rumblings and, after 93 minutes against the team situated fourth in the world, an unbeaten record.
As he noted himself yesterday, joining Alex Ferguson at the top table during Manchester United’s Champions League pomp chiselled him for any curveball thrown up by this gig's media commitments. And we know how sensitive the FAI are to those.
Regardless of what unfolds against Switzerland tonight – if we’re to trust Canham’s words from March 4 – it won’t be O’Shea prepping the team further in the June friendlies for the Uefa Nations League series kicking off against England.
Unless, that is, the FAI takes heed of what the players and public feel.
Those were contributory factors in keeping faith with Kenny when results and seeding went south and qualification campaigns were prematurely sindered from a competitive perspective.
O’Shea’s namesake Dara was the player representative on press duties yesterday.
Even if his platitudes chimed with the tone of his teammates, an extra bite to the comments as the camp near conclusion alluded to a pattern emerging from behind the scenes as to their preferred candidate.
“I think us as a group, we just want somebody who understands Irish football,” the Burnley defender said about the ideal next full-time boss.
“The manager here has probably the best experience in that sense. He has played so many times for this country and worked under great managers, great Irish managers too, so there is a lot to take from that as well.
“We are quite a young group that wants to learn so we’d like someone who is going to teach us and bring us along the way.
“Hopefully there is a lot of good that can come from this group in the future. We just want to play for our country and do the best we can but it’s not our decision.”
Carsley’s official withdrawal from the running triggered a slew of other contenders from far and wide, including the Greece and Georgia managers who face each other tonight for a place at the Euros.
Rather than embarking on the exotic angle of Gus Poyet or Willy Sagnol, the solution is before the eyes of FAI, in the opinion of O’Shea.
“Oh, most definitely yeah,” he replied when asked if a deep connection to Irish football constituted red line criteria for the incoming supremo.
“We are all Irish, all understand what it is to be Irish and how special it is.
“We are extremely lucky to have the opportunity to represent this country and to have the opportunity to have someone who understands that feeling as well. I think that’s massive.
“And someone that the fans can resonate with too. You want to have that backing and support from the country. As Irish fans, and I’m an Irish fan myself, I’d want that too.”
A wish-list throwing the limelight on the qualified person sitting beside him, then? “Yeah.” If it is the case that the heads of agreement with another name is binding, the FAI will look pretty silly were the man holding the fort defeat a Swiss team inside Europe’s top-10.
Were that scenario to unfold, it would be the highest-ranked Ireland team has conquered at home since scalping World champions Germany in 2015.
As the potential endgame beckons, it was put to O’Shea as to what his desirable legacy was – winning at all costs or leaving a style imprint from a draw.
“Ultimately, it’s a win,” he asserted.
“That’s what we want to do. But we’ve got to execute our plans, our details and make sure we get it right because Switzerland have good players, rotation, different formations - different ideas and options to choose from.”
Achieve that mission and the corner Richard Dunne recently insisted the FAI risked backing themselves into gets real.
“This experience has only enhanced what I’d always been planning, what I’ve always wanted to,” revealed O’Shea about his trajectory towards his dream job.
"When you get a taste of it, enjoy it and are motivated by it, why wouldn’t you want more of it? There could be a discussion about any scenario going forward.”
What’s the prospects of that chat concluding with O’Shea being an adversary to Rice at Lansdowne Road on September 7?
Stranger things have happened in the wild world of the FAI.
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