John O'Shea will find himself in somewhat of a strange position when he leads Ireland out at the Aviva Stadium for two friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland later this month.
Managing his country has always been an ambition of his, having played for Ireland over 100 times during his playing career. In saying that, he probably wouldn't have expected that the honour would be bestowed on him at this point in his coaching journey.
The Waterford man will be in charge for those two games, but it seems unlikely that his stint with the team will extend beyond that time period. It has been suggested that O'Shea is not in the running to be appointed as Ireland manager on a permanent basis, with FAI Director of Football Marc Canham giving an update on the process to appoint the new boss this afternoon.
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John O'Shea is relishing Ireland managerial opportunity
Regardless of what the future holds for John O'Shea, he is determined to make the most of those fixtures later this month.
What an amazing honour to get to manage my country. Obviously when I got the message from Marc just a week ago, it was an amazing feeling.
I'm very proud, because you got the chance to be involved at an assistant level and then helping out with the U21s and being involved the seniors. You get the chance to build a coaching staff quite quickly and prepare for two quite high profile friendly games in the Aviva with hopefully a big support behind us.
It's an amazing feeling and one I can't wait to come around really.
Judging by comments made by Marc Canham during this same press conference, it seems unlikely that John O'Shea will be appointed as Ireland head coach on a permanent basis.
The search for that person is nearing its conclusion. It was said that an agreement was very close, although it could be not be confirmed due to 'contractual obligations'. That suggests that the likely new Ireland boss is currently employed elsewhere, leading to speculation that Lee Carsley might be back in the running.
As for whether O'Shea will be part of that new Ireland coaching staff, he said he would certainly be open to the conversation.
That's something for further down the line. At the minute, I've been given the chance to lead the team for the two games against Belgium and Switzerland.
Going forward, who knows? I've spoken to Marc about this before, when management changes or things happen, head coaches have their own ideas.
I'd always be up for a conversation, but that's stuff for further down the line. My focus is fully on a couple of weeks away with two amazing games to be looking forward to.
Hopefully I'll be getting out to games, speaking to all the lads involved in the squad and keeping my fingers crossed that everyone will keep fit as well.
4 March 2024; Newly appointed interim head coach John O'Shea and FAI director of football Marc Canham, right, during a Republic of Ireland press conference at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
John O'Shea has long been touted as a potential future manager, going all the way back to his playing days. He has been steadily building his coaching CV since hanging up his boots, spending time with the likes of Reading, Stoke City, Birmingham City, and Ireland (at both U21 and senior level).
He left his role with Birmingham recently, with manager Tony Mowbray saying at the time that the Irishman wanted to pursue his own management career.
While this Ireland opportunity is likely to be a fleeting one, it is one he has been preparing for for a long time.
In my head, I've been preparing for an opportunity like this for a long time.
It's two games, but in my head I've been preparing since my late 20s or 30-years old that I'm going to get into the coaching side of things, the management side of things.
It's been in the thought process for a while. I feel like I'm ready, but I'm fully focused on these two games, getting the squad together, and preparing for that.
What happens after that, we'll see...
I was at Manchester United for 13 years, in the first team dressing room for nine years, so my voice must have got somewhere.
It was always a case that just because I was going from Manchester United to the Republic of Ireland, that my voice was going to be heard more over here. It was never a case like that.
It was just an incredible honour every time you were asked to play for Ireland. That was a natural thing for me.
As one of the most beloved Ireland players in recent years, you can be sure that the supporters will be fully behind John O'Shea for those games later this month.
As for what comes next for this team, that question is set to be answered at the beginning of April.
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