John O’Shea appointed Republic of Ireland interim head coach

Former Manchester United defender John O’Shea has been appointed interim head coach of the Republic of Ireland.

The Football Association of Ireland announced the news this afternoon and it means O’Shea will lead senior men’s national team on an interim basis for two friendly international matches against Belgium and Switzerland in March.

John O’Shea, who represented Ireland on 118 occasions, is third on the all-time list of appearances.

He re-joins the FAI having been an assistant coach under Stephen Kenny and worked as the U21 assistant manager to Jim Crawford. On top of that, O’Shea has coaching experience in domestic football with Reading, Stoke City and most recently under former United striker Wayne Rooney at Birmingham City.

The former versatile defender said: “I’m delighted to return to the senior men’s coaching staff as Interim Head Coach for the two international friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland.

“It will be an incredible honour to lead the side into the March international window. As everyone will know, I’ve always had immense pride representing my country, whether that be during my playing career or very recently, as part of the coaching staff for the men’s senior team and the Under-21s.

“It’s great that Paddy has agreed to come on board for the two matches and work will begin straight away to prepare for two top-quality fixtures against great opposition in Belgium and Switzerland, in front of our fantastic home support.

“I’ve got great belief in this group of players to win football matches and looking forward to some positive results.”

O’Shea has selected Paddy McCarthy as his assistant coach for the two friendlies.  The former Ireland defender currently works for Crystal Palace as an assistant coach having made over 130 appearances for the Eagles. He has also been caretaker manager on two separate occasions for the London club.

The only issue for O’Shea is he has no experience as a first team manager. However, having interviewed him as a player, he always seemed a calm character. I hope he gets the time to prove himself.

Finally, we would like to wish him the very best of luck with the Republic of Ireland national team.

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