Former Ireland player John O'Shea believes that people go too far when it comes to criticising players in the Ireland team.
Last month, Ireland played England and Greece, losing both of their opening Nations League games. A lot of attention was given to the manner of the defeats, and former Ireland player Glenn Whelan questioned whether the losses actually affected certain Ireland players.
"I don’t think it’s hurting enough bodies in that dressing room. Nathan [Collins] has come out... but he’s talking about lads: "We’ve had a chat in the dressing room." I don’t want to chat. In our dressing room, if we got beat, it was arguments, it was fisticuffs—that’s what you want," said Whelan in September on Virgin Media.
"You need to be showing a bit of passion. Losing games for Ireland should hurt; it should really hurt."
Ireland will play Finland in Helsinki this week, followed by a match against Greece three days later. Heimir Hallgrímsson has named a much-changed lineup for the games.
Certain players like Matt Doherty have been left out of the team after receiving flak from the Irish public.
The Waterford native O'Shea was asked today about squad depth and claimed today that focussing on specific positions wasn’t important. O'Shea said that people should appreciate the sacrifices each Ireland player makes and has made. The Ireland assistant boss also emphasised the need for people to be kinder to players and encouraged the public to support them more.
'They're really good players, playing at a really good level... I think we're too derogatory towards these players'
Assistant coach John O'Shea calls for people to get behind Republic of Ireland players rather than criticising pic.twitter.com/rAaFEpKHTo— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 7, 2024
"I think it's one of those things. We need to get away from that negative focus on positions in the team, the squad, and the players. The dedication and the sacrifices that every player makes, and the levels these players are playing at, are sometimes forgotten," said O'Shea on Monday afternoon to reporters from RTE Sport
"They're really good players, playing at a very high level, and I think it's a bit of nonsense that we're so derogatory towards them. They're showing dedication and they want to come and play for Ireland, so I think we should be getting behind them a bit more."
Republic of Ireland Squad: Finland & Greece
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O'Leary (Bristol City)
Defenders: Festy Ebosele (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Mark McGuinness (Luton Town), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O'Dowda (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen).
Forwards: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).
UEFA Nations League: Fixtures
10/10 - Finland vs. Ireland, Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, 7.45pm (9.45pm local time)
13/10 - Greece vs. Ireland, Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Athens, 7.45pm (9.45pm local time)
