Séamus Coleman insists John O’Shea ‘has all the materials to be the Ireland manager’
Séamus Coleman and interim head coach John O'Shea during an Ireland media conference at Castleknock Hotel in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Séamus Coleman believes that John O’Shea has “all the materials to be Ireland manager” but says that players are not caught up in the search for the next boss.
Lee Carsley’s confirmation that he is committed to his current role with the England U-21 side has killed fresh speculation that he was waiting in the wings to be unveiled in April in line with the FAI’s timeline for a new appointment.
Director of football Marc Canham said last month that the FAI had identified a candidate who had contractual commitments in this March window.
While that has prompted a guessing game now that Carsley is out of the picture, the Ireland squad are preparing for a friendly double-header with Belgium on Saturday and Switzerland on Tuesday working under an interim team led by O’Shea.
The former Manchester United player would like to take the role on a permanent basis but the FAI have indicated that won’t be happening.
However, Coleman has asserted that his former team-mate would be welcomed by the group and, either way, he would like him to be part of the plans going forward.
“We’ll get Saturday out of the way and Tuesday then, and fingers crossed we do well, which I’m sure we will,” said Coleman.
“Having this man involved with Ireland is a privilege. The people inside the camp really understand how important it is to have someone like the manager involved.
“I think the manager has the right temperament for the job.
“I know from speaking to the younger players who have come into the squad how much they enjoyed their time with the manager in the underage set-up (he was a coach for U-21 boss Jim Crawford before stepping up to fill a similar role under Stephen Kenny) and how welcome he made them feel, getting involved with them and wanting to find out about them.
"He has all the materials to be the Ireland manager and we have Saturday and Tuesday to think about now.
“As players we just come in and we want to do the best that we can for our country. I’ve always been one that no matter what manager is there or not there, you’ve got that pride within yourself.
“I’m sure that (manager search) is going on behind the scenes, but these two games are all I’m focusing on now, doing as well as we can for the manager at the minute and seeing where that brings us.”
