Ipswich Town defender Dara O’Shea on move to Portman Road from Burnley
Town defender Dara O’Shea says the culture and togetherness in the squad played a huge part in his decision to move to Portman Road during the summer.
O’Shea arrived towards the end of August for an initial £12m from Burnley and was among 12 new arrivals during the summer transfer window before establishing himself at the heart of the Blues defence.
Both of O’Shea’s previous two Premier League seasons with West Bromwich Albion and the Clarets ended in relegation, but says he has seen enough to suggest his time at Town can be different.
“First of all, I saw a winning culture, a winning environment and a real together group which is the main thing,” he said. “I found that over my experience in football, having that core group and togetherness goes a long way.
“The quality in the group is there and that’s for everyone to see, but there’s more to that in football and there’s more to successful teams than just quality. I really saw that coming off the back of two amazing seasons, it was something that I couldn’t not see.
“It was quite a long process. There was lots of stuff that was floating about in the summer and it was a decision I had to make as to where I wanted to come.
“I felt like Ipswich was the right place for me. There’s a lot of good things happening at this club and I knew it was a big club, but I probably didn’t realise how big a club it was until I came here and saw the amazing atmosphere at the stadium and how big the Foundation is to the club.
“It’s a decision I’m really proud to have made now, I feel like it’s the right one for me and my career and I’m excited to be working under a great manager and a good bunch of lads.”
The defender confirmed there was also interest in his services from fellow Premier League sides Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers which came close to materialising, but is pleased to have made the decision to make the move to Suffolk.
He said: “It was quite close. Football works quite quickly and things change, it was really close to going a different direction. It didn’t and I’ve made the right decision by coming to Ipswich.
“There were options there and there was stuff on the table. Football is quite a tricky world and how things become quite fine details and stuff like that.
“Rene [Gilmartin, goalkeeping coach] was the first one on the phone, to be fair. He was telling me to jump in the taxi with Aro as he came down here, but things weren’t done as much as you’d like then.
“Knowing the lads here, I’ve known a lot of lads so they were texting me and asking me to come too so that was quite nice.”
Nobody in the entire Town squad has started more Premier League matches than O’Shea’s 60, accumulated during his previous two seasons at this level.
The new arrival is hoping to bring as many of his positive experiences in the top flight into his career at the Blues.
“I’ve got that experience in the Premier League having played two previous seasons. Coming off the back of last season, obviously not a successful one in the fact that we got relegated, but I think a successful one for me.
“I’ve learned a lot, gained a lot of experience, played a lot of minutes and played against a lot of the opposition we’re going to be coming up against. For me, it’s about using that experience and that know-how, trying to help the team in that way and learning from what happened last season myself and improving as a player.”
O’Shea is also a heavily experienced international player, having earned 28 caps for the Republic of Ireland over the last four years, receiving his latest call-up on Friday ahead of the upcoming international window.
Alongside him in the squad from the Town contingent will be Chiedozie Ogbene, Sammie Szmodics and Jack Taylor, who will be hoping to make his international debut next week.
“I’m very patriotic and I love my country, so to get the call-up each time doesn’t feel any different,” he said. “It still feels special every time as much as the first time you get that. I’m really proud again to be selected and I’m ready to play the games.
“It’s quite funny, actually. I signed and then Chieo signed a couple of days after me and it started to look like it was becoming the Republic of Ipswich which is funny.
“Jack Taylor’s got the call-up too now which is amazing. It’s nice to have the Irish contingent around me, and with the likes of Reg [Rene Gilmartin] as well and the coaching staff is good.
“I’ve known Chieo for a long time. I was on loan at Exeter and he came on loan at the same time, so it was nice to link back up with him here at Ipswich. Obviously playing with Ireland too, we’ve known each other that way.
“So it’s just continuing on that relationship we have, playing with lads before is good because you know what they’re like when you come into the group so it’s that bit easier.”
The national team have recently had a new manager, with Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson taking over from previous interim boss John O’Shea, who bears no relation to Dara.
“It’s a new manager again that we’ve had in the international setup,” O’Shea said. “It’s quite hard in international football to instantly know what the manager wants and try and implement his way because you’ve got such a short period and a short window.
“So it’s one of them things that’s going to take a bit of time. We haven’t had the best success in international football over the last couple of years and that’s something that we’re looking to change.
“We’ve got a really good group and a good young group there that I think want to do great things. It’s trying to buy into what the manager wants us to do there and get results and qualify for tournaments.”
It is possible there could be a fifth Blues representative in the Republic of Ireland setup, with current England U21 international Liam Delap eligible to represent the Boys in Green.
Asked if he has had a word in Delap’s ear about his international allegiance, O’Shea said: “I’d love him to play for Ireland. That’s down to him at the end of the day, I don’t want to fill him with any more stuff in his head. As long as he’s scoring goals for Ipswich and doing well here, I’m happy.
“Whatever he feels as a person, he’ll make that call. There’s nothing worse than trying to force a player into something that maybe his heart and head isn’t set on.
“He’ll make the right decision, I’m sure of that. That’s down to him and his family.”
Discussing further on Delap and defending against him in training, O’Shea added: “It’s not easy and he’s a big boy as well as you can see. He’s got it all physically, he’s got that turn of pace, the strength and he’s scoring goals and knows where the back of the net is.
“As a striker that’s the most important thing, so as long as he can keep that consistency going in his game and keep the confidence alive in him, I think he’s going to have a great career.
“I’m really excited to be playing with someone like him, someone who I know is going to put the ball in the back of the net and take his chances. It’s great for the team and the club.”
Previous opponents Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, something the Midlanders failed to manage against the Blues at Portman Road.
Asked if that result was spoken about amongst the players, O’Shea said: “Yeah, of course it’s promising. We really held our own against Villa and probably came away from the game unlucky not to win it, so it’s nice when you see results go that way.
“But we just focus on ourselves and we know we’re capable as a group. Watching the game on Wednesday was nice to see.”
Finally, O’Shea was required to give his thoughts on the new question that has been on everybody’s mind at Playford Road over the last week, with Kieran McKenna and Jacob Greaves previously asked to give their verdict.
That question is whether there are more wheels or doors in the world, to which 25-year-old considered and responded: “It’s a tough question, I’ve seen this go about a lot. I would say more wheels based on the fact that I heard Lego produce the most wheels in the world. So if they’re classed as wheels as well, I think there’s a lot of them too.”
