Didi Hamann believes that the FAI already has the right man in place to take Ireland into the upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.
The former Liverpool midfielder believes that Ireland have the makings of a good team and he feels that John O'Shea is in the perfect position to lead the squad into the upcoming competitive fixtures in September.
Speaking after Ireland’s 2-1 victory over Hungary on Tuesday night, Hamann, who was working as a pundit for RTE Sport at the match, stressed the importance of the seeing the team return to winning ways following Stephen Kenny’s tenure in charge.
Hamann feels that O’Shea can bring back the feelgood factor and build a strong relationship with both the team and the supporters, which is crucial for a small nation looking to qualify for major tournaments.
"You look at the players smiling, the manager smiling, look at the fans, they haven’t had it in a long time," said Hamann, following the last-minute victory at Lansdowne Road.
"Coming to the Aviva over the last few years has been like going to the dentist, because you know you are going home with pain.
"This is so refreshing to see. The game wasn’t the best, but we shouldn’t forget that some of these guys haven’t played for three or four weeks and it’s not an easy thing to keep yourself fit.
"It’s about results, they worked hard for it. It wasn’t the most entertaining to watch but they kept digging in against a team that hasn’t been beaten in such a long time, and it gives everyone confidence.
"Let’s hope it is the start of something good."
And Hamann believes the best course of action for the Republic of Ireland is to maintain the momentum that the manager has been building within the squad since taking over on an interim basis in March.
Since then Ireland have played three higher-ranked sides and performed admirably in the March fixtures, where they drew with Belgium and were narrowly beaten by Switzerland.
"I doubt it," said Hamann, when asked if he expected the FAI to hastily act and appoint O’Shea after the victory. "There was no haste for six months so I doubt there will be haste after one win.
"With the England game coming up in September, you need to bring somebody in who had a good relationship with the fans, with the public, with the FAI, somebody where it is not a job, it’s more than a job.
"It’s a passion, an ambition to manage the home country, so I’d be mightily against bringing a foreigner in. You’ve got to get the punters, you need to get the fans back on board. We used to see 40-50,000 here, tonight there was 29,000. And it would help if you bring an Irish guy in who is going to manage the team.
"If you bring in someone who is just going to fly in and out for the games, it’s a job for him. You need the rapport, the relationship with the fans.
"And with John, you saw him there with Adam Idah after the game, with Duffy putting his arm around him, that relationship with the players, the fans can feel it, that there is, hopefully, something growing, there is a unity, there is a togetherness.
"Because for a small country, if you haven’t got it, you’ve got nothing. You only go to big tournaments if you are united within the team and also with the fans.
"I think they have got the perfect man in charge," Hamann added.
"You have to wait until Tuesday now. You shouldn’t judge it from one or two friendlies, but I’m sure the guys from the FAI see how the team are together, how they pull together, how he speaks to the players and the respect he has got from the players.
"So I think they have got the right man there."
And with the right man, Hamann feels that he can build the team around a very strong spine, which is just missing a dominant central midfielder.
And the German, who played in the 2002 World Cup final, believes that Ireland have some quality players to add to that spine to make them a decent side going into the future.
"What’s most important is the spine," said Hamann. "You have Kelleher who maybe should have got a chance sooner – although Bazunu has not done a lot wrong. Then you have O’Brien, who is doing well in France, and Collins who was missing, O’Shea, and then Ferguson.
"So now you have to find a central midfielder. I always thought Josh Cullen might be that player, but I’m not too sure now. Knight did well when he came on
"And once you have a spine, you put good players around them. And you have good players, Ogbene, O’Dowda did a job when he came in, so yeah, I’m pretty hopeful."
Fellow pundit, and former Ireland goalkeeper, Shay Given, also feels that John O’Shea is looking very comfortable in the role as Ireland manager and believes that the victory over Hungary will have strengthened his hand in terms of landing the permanent position.
"It’s that winning feeling," said Given, speaking on RTE after the game. "We haven’t seen it in such a long time. It’s that feel good factor and gives everyone a lift. I feel good anyway, it’s just nice to see an Ireland team win again.
"Clarity is what we all want. The pundits, the fans, John O’Shea and the players, we just need some clarity from the FAI. What is happening next because we are done with guessing.
"What I will say about John O’Shea is that he has done himself no harm tonight.
"He looks like a manager, talks like a manager, and he wants to be a manager, he’s talking about protecting players, talking about confidence, speaking to Troy Parrott twice on the phone even when he was not in the squad, all the things that a manager has to do that people don’t see.
"You can see at the end what it means to him to win a game of football. It’s that feelgood factor for John, his team and his staff as well."
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
