John O’Shea says he is “100 percent” committed to Ireland - and that he won’t be tempted away from the role.
Stephen Kenny has experienced a high turnover in his coaching department, with Damien Duff, Anthony Barry and John Eustace all holding the position that O’Shea recently took.
However, O’Shea won’t be going anywhere.
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He even quit his first-team coaching role at Stoke City earlier this month so that he could focus all his attention on his international job.
“It wasn't an easy decision to leave Stoke because it's obviously a very good club,” said the former Manchester United defender, who featured this week in a tongue-in-cheek video marking 20 years since his famous nutmeg of Luis Figo.
“But just the commitments in terms of doing the Stoke job and the Irish job as well, it's about getting a bit more balance in terms of family life too and most importantly going 100 percent at it with the Ireland job as well.
“That was the main thinking behind it.”
It was put to him that others were only briefly in the role, with Duff stepping down, Barry leaving for Belgium and Eustace taking the number one job at Birmingham City.
O’Shea replied: “I told Stephen there'd only be a couple of jobs that I would walk away for!
“No, in all seriousness I'm very committed to the Irish stuff and that's what I'll be doing.
“Why? It's very simple. It's the Irish senior team. That's the simple reason why it won over, wanting to commit to that, for the foreseeable future. It's as simple as that.
“Obviously I'd done quite a bit on the club side of things and I felt it was a good time to focus all the energy onto the Irish team.”
O’Shea was appointed in February and was involved for the first time in the March international window - a nine-day camp which included games against Latvia and France.
It was after those games that he felt he would have to drop one of his commitments.
“When I experienced the intensity of the nine day camp and going back into the club scene with its demands, it was about getting the balance right to ensure I could fully focus on the one role,” he said.
Meanwhile, O’Shea has posted a positive update on Seamus Coleman. The Everton ace went under the knife after suffering knee ligament damage earlier this month against Leicester.
While the June games against Greece and Gibraltar will probably come too soon for Coleman, O’Shea expects him to be back to his best before long.
“Look, I’ve no worries about his bouncebackability,” he said.
“I just sent him a message when I knew he was having the operation. Thankfully, by all accounts, it has gone to plan and gone well.
“Look, it needs a bit of time to heal. It obviously wasn’t nice seeing it. I saw it live as well, in terms of I was watching on the telly when it actually happened.
“But he has bounced back before from a terrible injury to a fantastic level, so hopefully that will be the case again.”
Coleman wrote in Everton’s programme last weekend that he “feared the worst” in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
“It's never a good feeling to get injured but coming so close to the end of the season made it feel worse,” said the Donegal native.
“Thankfully, the subsequent scans showed there was no lasting ligament damage and I will be back playing a lot sooner than I first feared.
"And by the way, a huge thank you to everyone who wished me well via social media.
“I'm not big on social media, I must admit, but the messages of support gave me a big lift when I needed one.
“I am just gutted I can't actually influence any of the games on the pitch but, as always, I will be amongst the lads in the dressing room offering any help I can.”
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John O’Shea was on hand today as a new mural commissioned by Just Eat was unveiled in Dublin.
Just Eat is a proud partner of the UEFA Champions League and have teamed up with the former Manchester United footballer to commemorate 20 years since O’Shea iconically ‘nutmegged’ Luis Figo during an all-time classic between Manchester United & Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Final of the 2002/03 season.
To celebrate their collaboration with John O’Shea, Just Eat have produced a video titled 'The Nutmeg' which is now live on their social channels, where the Waterford native recalls the moment he famously ‘nutmegged’ Luis Figo during the blockbuster Champions League clash.
The tongue in cheek content features O’Shea as you have never seen him before, it also has contributions from notable Irish faces such as Shay Given, Owen Colgan, Eileen Dunne and Joe Molloy who recall the impact O’Shea’s moment of skill had on them, footballing fans and beyond.
The new mural, erected on Camden Row celebrates John O’Shea as an Irish footballing hero and a UEFA Champions league winner. As the Official Food Delivery Partner of the UEFA Champions League, Just Eat are delighted to be able to give Irish football fans a chance to win tickets to this season’s Final in Istanbul on June 10th via their new mural.
To be in with a chance of winning UEFA Champions League Final tickets thanks to Just Eat, make sure to visit the new mural of John O’Shea on Camden Row and simply scan the QR code on the mural wall and enter your details before noon on Friday May 19th.
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