Champions League Winner Departs Role Amid Reading Rumours

Former Premier League defender John O’Shea, is believed to be a candidate for the vacant managerial Reading job, according to Darren Witcoop of Sunday Mirror.

With Reading getting closer to appointing a new manager, the 42-year-old has left his coaching role at Championship club Stoke City, with O’Shea also currently committed as assistant manager for the Republic of Ireland national side.

Who Is John O’Shea?

The Irishman has a wealth of experience as a player, playing in nearly 700 games during his career. Starting his career at Manchester United at the age of 17, O’Shea played 393 games for the Red Devils where he won 12 trophies, including five Premier League titles and a Champions League.

After serving his time at United, the versatile defender joined Sunderland, where he then ended his playing career with Reading. Following his retirement from playing, O’Shea joined Reading’s coaching staff where he spent two seasons gaining experience with the club.

Over the last year, O’Shea has served as a first-team coach for Stoke City while also remaining as the assistant manager for Ireland’s national team.

Is He Ready For The Step Up?

O’Shea has taken the slow approach to becoming a manager, with him wanting to gain experience as a coach first. Spending the last four years as a first-team coach and assistant manager, the former defender has earned his UEFA Pro Licence in that time while also gaining plenty of knowledge.

While it’s hard to know the impact he has on these teams, Ireland has shown a huge amount of improvement over the years with their young squad.

Writer’s View

I quite like how O’Shea has gone about his coaching career by learning at multiple clubs as a first-team coach first. With 20 years of playing experience to go alongside that, I do feel O’Shea has the potential to be a manager that could defiantly coach at the Championship or League One level.

The question then depends on if Reading is the right opportunity for him. With O’Shea already in a coaching position, time is on his side and he may wait for the perfect opportunity instead of the first one that falls to him.

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