Dara O'Shea: 'You either win or learn and we’ve done a lot of learning'

Dara O’Shea has played 39 times for his country, losing 20, drawing  eight - a record in keeping with everyone around him. 

Dara O'Shea during Republic of Ireland rraining, a the FAI National Training Centre, Abbotstown. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Take a microscope to the few remaining straws being grasped ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s last two World Cup qualifiers and any hopes of pulling off something miraculous don’t stand up to inspection.

Ireland’s supposed successes in frustrating Portugal in recent times have been clutched as one of these last refuges of encouragement, but if the team’s experiences with Thursday’s opponents tell us anything it might be just how little there has been to cheer.