Man United and Sunderland figure lands new job after Birmingham City exit

A month after he departed Birmingham City, John O'Shea has been appointed as the interim manager of the Republic of Ireland.

O'Shea spent three months at St Andrew's as first-team coach having been appointed under Wayne Rooney, who was relieved of his duties. The 42-year-old was afforded the opportunity to remain at Birmingham when Tony Mowbray was appointed but he opted to leave. Ashley Cole on the other hand stayed put and is assisting Mark Venus whilst Mowbray takes a period out.

Ireland have not yet found a permanent manager after not renewing Stephen Kenny's contract and have turned to O'Shea for their upcoming fixtures. The ROI play Belgium and Switzerland in friendly matches towards the end of March and O'Shea will be afforded the opportunity to audition for the role.

The Man United legend said: "I'm delighted to return to the senior men's coaching staff as interim head coach for the two international friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland.

"It will be an incredible honour to lead the side into the March international window.

"As everyone will know, I've always had immense pride representing my country, whether that be during my playing career or very recently, as part of the coaching staff for the men's senior team and the Under-21s.

"It’s great that Paddy has agreed to come on board for the two matches and work will begin straight away to prepare for two top-quality fixtures against great opposition in Belgium and Switzerland, in front of our fantastic home support.

"I've got great belief in this group of players to win football matches and looking forward to some positive results."

Paddy McCarthy, the current assistant manager at Crystal Palace will assist O'Shea who held the same role under his predecessor Stephen Kenny. O'Shea worked as an assistant manager to Jim Crawford with Ireland's under-21s team.

In Ireland's search for a manager, it was thought that Birmingham-born Lee Carsley was a strong contender for the role but he remains as the England under-21s boss. Former Sunderland and Wales boss boss Chris Coleman had held initial talks too but was ruled out of the running last week.

O'Shea is the third most capped player for Ireland with his 118 caps only beaten by Robbie Keane and Shay Given. He played at Manchester United during their most impressive spell, winning five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup.