Interim Ireland boss John O'Shea has praised the Ireland squad for buying into his ideas despite the little time spent together. Ireland takes on Belgium later today in the Aviva Stadium, and it will be the first audition for O'Shea in terms of the full-time Irish job.
The chase for the Irish manager has created uncertainty around the national team, and it is assumed that the uncertainty could find its way into the playing squad, but for O'Shea, he claims he's been impressed by the squad's desire to take on information in the week just passed.
"Amazing, really good," said O’Shea this week.
"But that's helped by the support staff around me too, and ultimately the players.
"They are the key to it, buying into it and showing the desire, attitude, and application to be aggressive and take things on; they show that in training, but it comes to the crux of it now in the team, and we are looking forward to the game."
This has not surprised O'Shea either. His time with the Ireland underage squad makes him familiar with a number of players in the senior team. O'Shea also believes that the freshness of the new faces in the team also adds to the determination of getting a win over Belgium in Dublin on Sunday.
Interim head coach John O'Shea (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"No one surprised me; I know the group well, and the staff have eyes on some of the players for the first time in the flesh, shall we say?" he added.
"There's been a freshness to it in terms of seeing a couple of new staff and new players in the squad as well. You add that freshness, a relaxed atmosphere, but also a proper learning curve in terms of what we will be looking for to do the job against Belgium."
O'Shea is a dark horse for the full-time Ireland job and is very likely to hand the reins over to someone else when the game against Switzerland on March 26 concludes.
No matter what happens, the Waterford native claims it is a huge honour to manage one's country, and it's one that he's immensely proud of having also represented his country at every level since U15.
"It’s right up there; it has to be an incredible honour to be the manager of your country," said O’Shea.
"To get the chance to represent Ireland from U15 onwards and all the levels, captain your country, the chance to be involved coaching with the U21s and the senior team, and now being the manager, it's amazing, one that myself and my family are really proud of."
Ireland's game against Belgium kicks off at 5 pm.
