WITH former team-mates like Damien Duff, John O’Shea might conclude that he does not need any enemies.
But O’Shea shrugged off the Shelbourne manager’s suggestion that he should have rejected the offer to be Ireland’s interim manager for a second international window.
Yesterday, the Waterford native named a 26-man squad for the friendly games against Hungary and Portugal.
The first game of the double-header will offer him a third chance to walk out at the Aviva Stadium in charge of his country, having done so against Belgium and Switzerland in March.
But he has had almost as many visits to the venue in his role as Uefa’s Europa League ambassador in recent months with the jarring double-jobbing at least giving the impression of a man who does not like saying no to people.
And the absence of clarity on his future led Duff to suggest he has been hung out to dry and, as a result, should have declined the FAI’s request to man the fort while their inexplicably long recruitment process for a permanent manager trundles along.
He advised O’Shea – who has held coaching roles with Reading, Stoke City and Birmingham City – to gain further experience in the club game rather than infrequent involvements with the international side.
EASY NOW
O’Shea is to diplomacy what Duff is to calling it as he sees it and you cannot have a war of words when one party is a conscientious objector.
So there was no public rebuke of someone who was an international team-mate for a decade, just a calm explanation of his perspective.
He said: “I’ve been coaching now for a good few years, full on day to day for a long time as well in at different clubs, in with the 21s too.
“There was a couple of years there where I was 24/7 for 11 months coaching on the grass, learning about players, learning about squad.
“Just how things have happened this time around the first chance I have to be a manager is to manage my country so that’s what I’m really enjoying and looking forward to doing for the next two games.
“It’s a case for me that John O’Shea has gone from being an assistant coach to a head coach.
“The experience for me to manage my country in my first job is incredible. I just can’t emphasise that enough.
“He was asked if he would be joining his former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney at Plymouth Argyle having briefly worked with him at Birmingham.
O’Shea said: “My full focus is on the two games coming up and I’ve nothing sorted either way after that.”
On whether he had been hung out to dry, O’Shea said: “Damien is entitled to his opinion. I don’t feel that’s the case.”
Asked if he needed longer to decide to accept the role for a second double-header, O’Shea said: “Not much more to be honest.
“You weigh a few things up but ultimately, for me, it was managing my expectations in terms of ‘right, this is going to be brilliant for me,
“I get to manage my country again for two games, really two good tests again and I’m only going to be better for it afterwards’.
“That was my thinking of it. Whatever happens afterwards happens. My full focus on the two games, Hungary and Portugal, and we’ll see after that.”
FAI VIEW
On the day of the European decider in Dublin last week, interim CEO David Courell declined to rule out the possibility of O’Shea getting the job on a permanent basis although Director of Football Marc Canham had previously done just that.
His reaction? He said: “There was no reaction, really, because it wasn’t as if someone had spoken to me or someone had said something different.
“When I made the commitment to do the two games that was it.
“Obviously I saw David then at the Europa League final and just had a chat with him and he was kind of saying ‘there will be more headlines’ type of thing. It is what it is. There’s nothing I can do about it as such.
“Like we did after the last two games, we’ll have a conversation about the games and without a doubt we’ll have another after these as well about what’s happening.
“Look I know Marc is doing good work behind the scenes. I know he’s a good fella and he wants to do things the right way.”
After a draw and a defeat last time around, he will hope for at least one win this time around, lamenting the missed spot-kick by Evan Ferguson – missing this time around – in his first game in charge.
He said: “You’d hope so, that’s the key thing. You are playing against Belgium, get a penalty and you think Evan.
“I would not have wanted anyone else to take it because I have seen how he hits the ball in training, something like that is just unfortunate.
“The key thing is that if you keep the performance levels high, I think the results will take care of themselves very soon.”
And he admitted: “Good results will always strengthen your hand for anything, football is a results business.”
CANNON CALL-UP
As well as Tom Cannon being named in a senior squad for the first time, O’Shea confirmed Jake O’Brien – who scored in the French Cup final on Saturday – will make his debut, having been an unused substitute in March.
And he welcomed the strong end to the season for strikers Adam Idah and Troy Parrott for Celtic and Excelsior respectively, as well as Will Smallbone who helped Southampton to promotion.
There is a first call-up for keeper David Harrington, 23, who has made just one appearance for Fleetwood Town since moving from Cork City in January 2023.
Spurs keeper Josh Keeley, Celtic midfielder Bosun Lawal – who had an impressive loan stint at Fleetwood – and Brighton attacker Andy Moran have been called in to train before linking up with the Under-21 squad.
That is, in part, to cover the delayed arrivals of Mark Travers and Josh Cullen because of their respective weddings.