Jim Crawford sure John O'Shea has all the tools to make senior Ireland role a success
Jim Crawford has backed John O’Shea, his old sidekick with the Republic of Ireland U21s, to bring a lifetime’s worth of experience and a varied skillset to the interim role of senior management.
O’Shea is in charge for the upcoming men’s friendlies against Belgium on Saturday and Switzerland three days later having been handed the role following the departure of Stephen Kenny last year and in the absence of a confirmed successor.
That latter scenario is due to change early next month when the FAI finally gets around to naming the new man in charge. For now, the senior side is in the hands of O’Shea who enjoyed three years as assistant to Crawford with the U21s.
“John will bring an air of calmness,” said Crawford. “His knowledge of the game is second to none. He was extremely influential with us when we got to our first ever playoffs. I have nothing but admiration for him. He had a lot of input, as did every other staff member.
“John has fantastic knowledge of the game and as a head coach you need to be able to control your emotions and he is certainly able to do that. He sees the game in a very clear way and he has the communication skills to transfer his ideas to the players no problem.
“He is extremely likeable and what underpins all that is the career he had as a player. Being a head coach is totally different, it is a different skillset, but it will help him in that role having been so successfully with Ireland and Manchester United and other clubs.
“He was massive with us and I do know that he learned a lot from his time here with the 21s and, in saying that, he learned a lot when he was with Reading and Stoke and Birmingham, We’re all delighted that John was given the opportunity.
Crawford was impressed with
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