Interim Ireland manager John O’Shea has claimed that he will be looking at bringing in "new faces" into the next Ireland squad this month.
O'Shea has been tasked with managing the Ireland team for two friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland on March 23 and 26.
In the meantime, the FAI will look to bring in a full-time boss and end a process that has been ongoing since November.
O'Shea has claimed that consistency will be key but hinted that new faces in the squad could come in for the two games this month.
“I’m going to see games. I was at Blackburn and Millwall last night, and you are getting out and about at the weekend to catch up with everyone," said O'Shea this week
"Ultimately, the squad won’t change too much because you want to keep that consistency.
“But hopefully, there might be one or two fresh faces as well in the squad, so we’ll see what happens over the next 10 to 14 days.
“Hopefully, everybody stays fit, and we can look forward to a good camp.”
"It's an amazing honour" 💚🇮🇪
Newly appointed Interim Head Coach John O'Shea sits down with FAI TV to give his thoughts on his appointment & the feeling of being asked to take charge of the MNT for the upcoming fixtures @AVIVAStadium later this month 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0dnsbmIJWv— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 4, 2024
John O'Shea mentioning Blackburn would indicate that the two new faces would be Blackburn duo Andy Moran and Sammie Szmodics.
The Wateford native has worked with the likes of Blackburn loanee Andy Moran, whom he has worked with at the under-21 and senior levels, but also hinted that Moran's colleague Sammie Szmodics is another player who could receive a call-up.
Szmodics has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season and was called up to a past Ireland camp for the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar. However, he had to withdraw from those games for personal reasons.
The Blackburn hotshot is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland and Hungary through his county, with a Longford Irish-born grandmother and a Hungarian-born grandfather.
"He is scoring lots of goals. He is obviously a very important player for Blackburn,” O'Shea said this week.
Ireland will take on Belgium at Aviva Stadium on March 24, 2024! Kick-off is at 17:00.
Further information can be found here.
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