JOHN EGAN has insisted John O’Shea is ruthless enough to be a manager.
O’Shea is waiting to learn his fate after taking charge of Ireland on an interim basis since Stephen Kenny’s departure last November.
FAI Director of Football Marc Canham had claimed that Kenny’s permanent successor would be appointed in April once they had fulfilled ‘existing contractual obligations’.
That did not happen with O’Shea at the helm for the June friendly double-header against Hungary and Portugal, as he had been for the games against Belgium and Switzerland in March.
O’Shea recorded one win, courtesy of a stoppage time goal from Troy Parrott against Hungary, from the four matches against sides competing at Euro 2024.
And he is hoping he did enough to secure the Association to hand him the reins on a permanent deal.
Some have questioned whether O’Shea is too nice to be a manager, contrasting his manner with that of his former Ireland team-mate Damien Duff who has Shelbourne riding high.
CLASS PEDIGREE
But Egan – who has known O’Shea since the Waterford man joined Sunderland in 2011 – said: “To be honest, I don’t think you’d play that many games for Manchester United and Ireland if you didn’t have that in you.
“His career as a player speaks for itself and he’s been coaching now for a long time as well at a couple of clubs and Ireland.
“I obviously worked with him when he was a coach with Ireland too. He’s got unbelievable experience and he’s a legend of the game who commands respect wherever he goes.”
Egan missed O’Shea’s four matches in charge through injury but said: “I know from watching the games that everyone is enjoying working with him.
“I’m delighted he got the chance, he’s a legend of Irish football, and he’s a very proud Irishman.”
After the 3-0 defeat to Portugal nine days ago, O’Shea called for a speedy resolution to a recruitment process which has now taken seven months.
And the Sheffield United defender added: “I think that would be best for everybody, to have clarity. There is not really too much more to say about that. It speaks for itself.”
The 31-year-old believes that there are grounds for optimism about the future of the team even though the next match is a daunting Nations League clash with England in September.
He said: “There’s a lot to be optimistic about. We’ve had a very young team and every year the experience they’re getting at club and international level can only help.
“Watching a major tournament you always have that feeling of wishing you were there. The pinnacle of that is qualifying for major tournaments. That has to be the aim.
“You have to try and go out there every time you put on the green jersey and represent your country in the best way possible “
He believes, with the emergence of players such as fellow Cork man Jake O’Brien, and Sam Curtis progressing at Bramall Lane, there are better days ahead.
YOUNG BLOOD
He said: “Jake has done brilliantly. He had been doing fantastic over in France and deservedly made his Ireland debut, so it’s great to see.
Egan said: “Sam has settled in really well. I got to know him quite early on because I was his taxi driver for the first couple of months.
“He’s played a lot of first-team games in Ireland which you can see, he’s got stuck in straight away and became part of the dressing room fairly quickly.
“Sam has come in and not only has he worked hard but he has kept asking questions and I see him out after training doing extras a lot.
“He has got a really good attitude for the game to be the best player that he can be. That’s probably the main thing that sticks out about him.”
Egan hopes he has more to offer for his country as he prioritises regaining full fitness after an Achilles injury with his Blades deal expiring at the end of this month.
He has been with the club for six years and captained them in their first six matches of the season before an Achilles injury in September which required surgery ruled him out of the rest of their doomed relegation fight.
He said: “I’m making sure I’m fully fit for pre-season. Those talks are going on in the background, they are above my head.
“For the last few months now, I’ve just been gearing myself towards getting fully fit for pre-season.
“And when the time comes, when there is an offer or a decision to be made, everything gets weighed up.”