JOHN O’Shea has praised Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson for his “dedication, sacrifice and application” and believes that momentum will start to shift.
The new Ireland manager got a rude awakening during last month’s international window that saw the Irish fall to England and Greece in their opening two UEFA Nations League.
The squad are on their travels over the next week with difficult games against Finland and Greece.
Hallgrimsson spoke candidly after their 2-0 home defeat to Greece that some players were struggling with the weight of the Ireland jersey when they perform on the international stage.
The Icelandic intimated that the Ireland job was perhaps bigger than he originally anticipated after his July appointment.
He was also criticised in some quarters for not attending more English League games preferring to watch games via video links and various Apps, citing the amount of time spent in his car going from game to game wasn’t the best use of his time.
With an intense media interest in the national team, O’Shea said: “I just told him you’re all a lovely bunch! No, he’s fully aware.
“We would have spoken about it with the England game and the level of exposure behind that as well. Look, the dedication and sacrifice and application that I’ve seen from the manager is someone that wants to get big results and quick results for Ireland too, but there are steps to that as well.”
Cardiff City’s Callum O’Dowda is the only player ruled out of the Finland and Greece games from the original 24-man squad following last weekend’s club games.
With hard work and doing the basics better, O’Shea believes the tide will turn for the Republic of Ireland and was irked slightly at some questions from journalists he perceived as negative.
“It’s nearly 28-odd years that I’ve been involved in Irish teams, camps, playing, training, coaching; no one comes in wanting to be negative, everyone comes in wanting to do well for their country,” said Ireland’s assistant manager.
“Everyone wants to have positive performances; everyone wants to win games. At different spells you will have a rough patch, and the only way you will get through it is by sticking together, working hard and making sure that everyone in the room, everyone in that squad that’s named, is together and fully focused on getting results for Ireland.
“That comes with hard work, doing the basics right and then eventually you can implement different bits stage by stage.
“If you can do that as quickly as possible, hopefully then the momentum shifts and you get the wins that you need and the positive results that you need. But ultimately, getting the performance levels right behind it is the key bit as well.”
After a poor showing against England in which Ireland lost 2-0, there were some positive periods against the Greeks a few days later.
Evan Ferguson – Ireland’s great white hope after a fantastic 2022/23 season with Brighton – was on the comeback trail in the last international window.
The 19-year-old got a few minutes at the end of the England match and over 30 minutes against Greece. In total, he’s played 130 minutes this season.
He was on the bench in Brighton’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Spurs on Sunday but feels he is in better physical shape for this international window.
As he approaches full fitness again, he has a new manager at both club and international level.
Thirty-one-year-old Fabian Hurzeler replaced Roberto De Zerbi’s replacement at Brighton and Hallgrimsson was Stephen Kenny’s long-awaited successor with Ireland.
“Obviously when there is a new manager coming in, it’s like the international team, they try to change pretty much everything.
“It’s a new way of playing football. I’ve had time to work on my own stuff that I need to do. I’m just trying to stay fit and get back in the team.”
“I think all the lads have gone into what he wants. We all know what he wants and how he wants us to do it. I think everyone can chip in and everyone can play the way that he wants us to play. We just need to wait for it all to click together. Then it will be good.”