Ireland defender’s performance against Manchester United should force Heimir Hallgrimsson rethink

24 Nov 2024, 21:40 by Mark McCadden · Irish Mirror

Dara O’Shea’s performance on Sunday for Ipswich Town against Manchester United will give his international boss plenty of food for thought.

There is a long way to go between now and the next international window, when Ireland face Bulgaria in late March in their Nations League promotion/relegation play-off double-header.

So that’s plenty of time for Heimir Hallgrímsson to mull over his six games in charge so far, and what went right and what went wrong.

One thing that emerged from the games against England, Finland and Greece was that Hallgrímsson felt that O’Shea was the best option to replace the crocked Seamus Coleman.

Coleman started on the right of a three-man defence in the opener against England, with O’Shea on the left of that trio, in a team selection that was heavily influenced by John O’Shea.

Over the next five games, with Coleman out and Matt Doherty largely sidelined, O’Shea started at right-back in four of them.

And when Doherty returned to the starting-11 for the home win against Finland, he was replaced at right-back with 15 minutes to go by O’Shea.

Hallgrímsson is a modern coach, driven by statistical breakdowns and analysis, with video platforms such as Wyscout offering a wide window to the players at his disposal.

So it won’t have escaped his attention on Sunday that O’Shea’s numbers were off the charts against United.

The stats showed that he made more recoveries than anyone else on the pitch (nine), more clearances (six) and more tackles (three), while he won nine out of the nine duels in which he competed.

And all that without committing a single foul.

Ipswich forked out around €14m to sign O’Shea and on Sunday he looked a bargain buy as he helped keep United at bay.

He is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and has a strong aerial presence, considering he wouldn’t be the biggest centre-half around.

When it comes to pace, he is one of the fastest centre-halves in the Premier League.

Fans were raving about his performance against United on social media, not that posts on X are going to sway Hallgrímsson.

O’Shea looks set to give him a major headache heading into the new year - and in the longer term.

Seamus Coleman might reclaim the right-back spot in time for the Bulgaria games next March, fitness permitting, but time is running out for the 36-year-old Everton man.

And Doherty wasn’t even selected in the original 23-man squad for the last international window.

Is Festy Ebosele disciplined enough to operate as an orthodox right-back? Hallgrímsson is clearly taken by the on-loan Watford man’s attacking attributes.

Or is there a midfielder that can be shoehorned into right-back, such as Alan Browne?

Maybe former St Patrick's Athletic full-back Sam Curtis (18), who is getting plenty of game-time this season on-loan at Peterborough from Sheffield United, is the long-term answer.

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t be heading to Plovdiv next year with our most in-form centre-half playing as a right-back.

But as Hallgrímsson is quickly discovering, when it comes to the Ireland gig there is no such thing as an ideal world.

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