John O’Shea, the provisional manager for the Republic of Ireland’s football squad, had his squad announcement in Dubin, on Tuesday, eclipsed by external events which involved Damien Duff, Wayne Rooney, and Shane Duffy. Duff, who previously played alongside O’Shea, expressed his desire for O’Shea to be a daily hands-on coach. Duff, the current Shelbourne manager, also suggested that O’Shea should have declined a second round as a provisional FAI manager until a full-time appointment is made before the Nations League match against England in September.
Duff criticised the stagnated recruitment process of the FAI to fill the space left by Stephen Kenny, and claimed it left O’Shea in a precarious position. O’Shea, however, countered Duff’s statement, remarking that he didn’t share the same sentiment.
There was also buzz around Rooney’s return to management with Plymouth Argyle this week. Given Rooney’s prior team recruitment of O’Shea for Birmingham City in the previous year, speculation arose this could address Duff’s worries regarding O’Shea’s coaching development. O’Shea reiterated his dedication to coaching, emphasising his extensive experience in daily coaching roles at several clubs and with the Ireland 21s.
There was uncertainty over Shane Duffy’s selection as the experienced defender faces a court date on charges of drunk driving, following a car crash earlier this month in Norwich. In response to this, O’Shea pointed out that errors are a normal part of life and individuals have the opportunity to make amends.
In addition, the call-up of Leicester City’s striker Tom Cannon was also announced, ahead of the friendly face-offs against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium on the upcoming Tuesday and then in Portugal on June 11. This call-up is significant as it comes amidst recent interest from the English FA.
For Cannon to become ineligible to play for England, he must appear three times (one in a competitive match) for either the Irish senior squad or the under-21 team. The last player to switch alliances after being capped for Ireland was Declan Rice in 2018, who ultimately pledged his loyalty to Gareth Southgate’s team.
According to O’Shea, Cannon seems enthusiastic about the upcoming two games, based on their discussion. It is hoped that he will pledge his commitment to the team.
The team is facing significant absences due to multiple reasons. Evan Ferguson, Nathan Collins, John Egan, and Gavin Bazunu are all sidelined with injuries, and Alan Browne is unaffiliated with any club due to the termination of his contract with Preston North End. Further, Festy Ebosele is facing “physical issues” from a challenging Serie A season with Udinese, while Chiedozie Ogbene is unavailable due to familial obligations.
Among the five forwards named is Troy Parrott, including the Blackburn Rovers striker Sammie Szmodics and Celtic’s Adam Idah, the latter of whom notched the winning goal against Rangers in the recent Scottish Cup final. However, Parrott may not be available to play against Hungary since his team, Excelsior, is scheduled to compete against NAC Breda in the second leg of the Dutch relegation play-off this Sunday.
Andrew Moran, Josh Keeley of Barnet, and Bosun Lawal from Celtic will join the rest of the crew at Abbotstown for training before they team up with Jim Crawford’s under-21 squad for friendly matches against Croatia and England.
Previous efforts by Kenny’s management to resolve the perennial issue of the lengthy break between the end of the EFL Championship regular season on May 4th and the Hungary game 31 days later have not been successful. This gap has previously had a detrimental impact on Irish football, including failures to quality for Euro 2024 through a play-off due to losses to Ukraine and Armenia in the Nations League in 2022. Attempts to rectify this issue in 2023, with camps held in Bristol and Turkey, culminated in a 2-1 defeat to Greece under Gus Poyet in Athens. Currently, 14 of the squad are four weeks into their off-season.
The status quo is unchangeable and we can only trust in the professionalism of the boys to address the issue and break the cycle. Despite the trials of various methods, some players are still on the field, such as the Celtic contingent, Jake O’Brien, Will Smallbone and Troy. The extension granted to these players offers hope for beneficial changes.
Below is the team sheet for the Republic of Ireland Squad for their matches against Hungary and Portugal:
The goalkeepers include Caoimhín Kelleher (of Liverpool), Mark Travers (from AFC Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (from Bristol City) and David Harrington (of Fleetwood Town).
In the line of defence we have Séamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolves), Shane Duffy (Norwich City), Dara O’Shea (Burnley), Jake O’Brien (Lyon), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Robbie Brady (Preston North End) and Enda Stevens (Stoke City).
Midfielders are Josh Cullen (Burnley), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen), Callum O’Dowda (Cardiff City), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Mark Sykes (Bristol City) and Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Celtic).
Forwards include Sammie Szmodics (Blackburn Rovers), Adam Idah (Celtic, on loan from Norwich City), Troy Parrott (Excelsior, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Obafemi (Millwall, on loan from Burnley) and Tom Cannon (Leicester City).
Dates for upcoming friendly international fixtures:
• On the 4th of June, The Republic of Ireland will be facing Hungary at the Aviva Stadium, kick-off at 7.45pm.
• On the 11th of June, Portugal will compete against The Republic of Ireland at the Aveiro Municipal Stadium, match commences at 7.45pm.