While the situation surrounding the search for the next Ireland manager remains unclear, interim boss John O’Shea may well have boosted his chances of getting the job on a permanent basis on Tuesday night.
The friendly game against Hungary was a relatively low stakes affair, with very little on the line for either side. In saying that, it was encouraging to see Ireland get a 2-1 victory after a dreadful run of results over the last 12 months or so.
As well as that, O’Shea’s candidacy to become the next full-time manager may well have been strengthened.
Hungary went into that game on a 14-game unbeaten run and have been tipped by many as a potential dark horse at Euro 2024. They struggled to get much joy out of this game, and one or two Caoimhín Kelleher saves aside, the Irish side handily dealt with the obvious threat they posed.
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Will Smallbone backs John O’Shea’s credentials to be Ireland manager
It remains to be seen if John O’Shea does get the job on a permanent basis, although he certainly seems to have the backing of the players. Those who have been part of the last two international camps have sung the praises of the Waterford man and his coaching staff.
Will Smallbone perhaps knows O’Shea’s coaching acumen better than anybody else in the squad.
Not only has worked under him with Ireland (both in the interim role and during O’Shea’s time on Stephen Kenny’s staff), but he also was coached by the 43-year old with the Ireland U21s and at Stoke City.
Speaking to the media after the Hungary game, Smallbone was full of praise for the former Manchester United star and the impact that he has had on the midfielder’s career.
I can’t thank John enough for everything he’s done for me throughout my short career so far, and hopefully for a long time to come.
I’m really happy for him to get the win. I think he set us up really well and you can see his qualities as a manager coming to fruition now…
Obviously he’s got a big job in terms of focusing on the team but whenever I see him around the place or on the training pitch he’s always drip feeding me bits of information that I’ve taken on and it’s been very key to me having a good season this season and carrying it into this camp…
I’ve loved working with John from U21s to Stoke and now Ireland. It’s gone full circle and carried on for maybe longer than I thought it would have, but I’m really enjoying working with him and I think he’s brought a very positive view on things to the camp.
Ireland were well set up in the victory over Hungary, certainly in a defensive sense. They did struggle to create opportunities at the other end of the pitch, scoring with their only two shots on target in the game. Of course, that is not a new problem for this team.
They are likely to face a sterner test when they travel to take on Portugal on Tuesday evening, although they will go there with plenty of confidence on the back of this result.
Ireland have had plenty of close misses against good opposition in recent seasons, reversing that trend by managing to get over the line against Hungary. In terms of what was different this time around, Smallbone admitted that it was difficult to put his finger on.
I’m not sure. We probably played like we did today, or played better and lost. But maybe a mentality shift.
I think it was important that we got a win against a good nation. Hungary going to the Euros is a very good team to get that against. John was saying they were unbeaten in 14 or something like that, so to stop their run and do it at home with the Irish fans is very special.
I think we’ve got such a young squad and people playing all around Europe now. I think we’re coming together at a good time and to get a win against Hungary, a good nation, is a very big positive. I’m looking forward to the future and long may it continue – the lads are playing and playing well, coming into Ireland camps in good form.
I think we’ve always had an internal belief, but I think externally we need to prove to ourselves and a lot of people that we can beat the bigger nations and get ourselves back up to where we belong. I think today is a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Will Smallbone was named man-of-the-match on the night, capping off what has been a wonderful few weeks for him. He helped Southampton to promotion to the Premier League last month, providing the assist for Adam Armstrong’s winning goal at Wembley Stadium.
He will no doubt be hoping to round out the season in style when Ireland face Portugal next week.
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