Irish centre-back Dara O'Shea has stated that he and the players would like the next manager of the Irish football team to have a strong understanding of Irish football.
This month, the FAI claimed that the appointment of a new Ireland boss would reach its climax in early April, and feverish speculation as to who that would be has gone into overdrive.
The bookies have Gus Poyet and Willy Sagnol as two favourites to take the job. The interim boss, O'Shea, is also a dark horse for the role.
While there may be a desire to get someone with more international experience from the FAI, the Irish players and O'Shea believe that their current manager, John O'Shea, could be the man to take on the role full-time, as he understands the nooks and crannies of the Irish football system and its native people.
🗣 "I think we just want someone who understands Irish football."
🗣 "Obviously the manager here is the best experience in that sense."
Dara O'Shea throws his support behind John O'Shea as the potential next Ireland manager.
Football with @williamhillire. pic.twitter.com/JwhLMHw34p— Off The Ball (@offtheball) March 26, 2024
"We are all Irish; we all understand what it is to be Irish and how special it is," Dara O'Shea said this week.
“Us as a group, we just want somebody who understands Irish football and who knows what it is.
"Obviously, the manager here (interim boss John O’Shea) has probably the best experience in that sense.
“He has played so many times for this country and has worked under great managers, great Irish managers too, so there is a lot to take from that as well.
“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, and as Irish fans, I’m an Irish fan myself; I’d want that too.”
While his namesake, O'Shea, may not have the senior experience to lead his country, the player has claimed that none of the players have looked at their interim boss as someone holding the fort for someone else.
“At no stage have any of us thought; he (John O'Shea) is just here as an interim. We just know that the manager is doing his best job. We’re all committed to playing the way he wants us to, to taking on his ideas, and to doing our best for the country.
“Since he has come in this week, it’s been quite refreshing; it’s been a really enjoyable week for us as players."
