'There’s a spark' - John O'Shea hopeful Ireland's Gladiator will feast on Hungary

Evan Ferguson’s return to form is timely for Ireland. O’Shea highlighted how he’s kept Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk out of the Roma team and benefitted from the renowned Italian fitness regime.

THIS. IS. DUBLIN!:  Evan Ferguson during a Republic of Ireland training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

John O’Shea believes Evan Ferguson has found the perfect mix in AS Roma in time for Ireland’s tilt at reaching a first World Cup in 24 years.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s trust in handing the 20-year-old a fresh outlet in Serie A has produced early dividends by him starting both 1-0 wins over Bologna and Pisa.

Ferguson missed Wednesday’s training session at Abbotstown to attend the funeral of his grandfather Fergus (Fergie) Ferguson but is teed up to lead the attack against Hungary at Lansdowne Road on Saturday night (7.45pm).

Having burst on the Premier League scene as one of four 18-year-olds to ever score a hat-trick, his return from an ankle injury at Brighton and Hove Albion under manager Fabian Hurzeler was slow.

A loan move to reunite with former Seagulls manager Graham Potter at West Ham United in the second half of the season didn’t yield much improvement in terms of game-time but he’s been the main man under legendary Italian Gasperini.

AS Roma negotiated a season-loan for €3m and based on his early impact there’s every chance of them activating the €38m purchase option.

Five-time Premier League winner O’Shea initially worked with Ferguson as an U21 coach and he’s continued the tutelage in the senior fold as Heimir Hallgrímsson’s assistant.

Ireland share their World Cup qualifying group with O’Shea’s former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal but the other two teams are up first, Hungary on Saturday followed by a trip to face Armenia in Yerevan next Tuesday.

Ferguson’s return to form is timely for Ireland. O’Shea highlighted how he’s kept Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk out of the Roma team and benefitted from the renowned Italian fitness regime.

“So far it looks like there’s a spark between Evan, the manager and Roma,” observed O’Shea.

“It seems to be a perfect mix. From a brief chat with him, we spoke about the fitness work that Italian teams go through in pre-season.

“It tells you a lot about the person and character to make that call.

"I still refer to Evan as a kid but when I saw him the other day, I knew he'd got a proper good pre-season into him as well. He's really looking in good shape.

“He wanted to go to Italy for that challenge and also the competition he faces.

“Roma are a big team in Europe, a massive team in Italy. To show that maturity to get in the team and play at that level showing what he can do is no surprise.

“You just hope that he maintains that consistency and then Ireland will get a huge benefit from.”

Ireland’s prospects of ending a decade-long tournament drought starts at the other end of the pitch, stresses O’Shea.

Early defeats in the World Cup and Euros campaigns killed off qualification chances under Hallgrímsson’s predecessor, Stephen Kenny.

The Icelander has prioritised defensive solidity since his appointment 14 months ago, backboning his team with the Brentford pair, Caoimhín Kelleher in goal and Nathan Collins ahead of him.

Collins is one of several club captains in the team, along with Josh Cullen, Dara O’Shea and Jason Knight.

Together, their experience will be invaluable to attaining the clean sheets O’Shea asserts are imperative to emerge from the pool into next year’s World Cup in North America.

“All the teams that qualified for World Cups or Euros had the steeliness and toughness to get tight 1-0 wins or a draw away from home,” he noted.

“The big thing will be, ideally, having mostly clean sheets.

“Our players are now battle-hardened from important qualifying games. It’s crucial and they know what it will take, having the bravery to take the ball in certain areas, where the ball can be risked to punish teams.

“I can't remember any Irish team qualifying for tournaments at ease, whether it be for a World Cup or a European Championship. You must have that steeliness and determination.”

Corralling Hungary’s talisman Dominik Szoboszlai will have a huge bearing on how Ireland fare in the opener before a sold-out 51,000 crowd.

O’Shea accomplished that as a caretaker manager in a 2-1 friendly win 15 months ago but insists the Liverpool playmaker will be a different proposition in his bid to participate at a first World Cup.

"I think about the World Cup a lot, even when I'm at Liverpool ," Szoboszlai told M4Sport as he builds up to their trip to Dublin.

"My big dream is to give a performance that will be remembered forever but we have to stay down to earth and see the reality.

“We're playing a Portuguese team that needs no introduction, and an Irish team that half of its players play in the Premier League, and then the Armenians, who also have good players.

“We they can play a good one-on-one match against the Irish. Even a point could be worth gold in the end because Ireland have players that are strong and big. They fight, they drive and they run.”