O'Shea: Disappointed Not to Win But a Good Point to Build on Spurs Win Sunday, 24th Nov 2024 23:14 Central defender Dara O’Shea was disappointed that the Blues didn’t beat Manchester United at Portman Road, the game ending 1-1, but at the same time felt it was a good point to build on the first win of the season at Tottenham a fortnight ago. Marcus Rashford scored for the Red Devils after only 80 seconds but the Blues deservedly struck back through Omari Hutchinson’s first Premier League goal just before half-time and Town had chances to win it in the second half with Andre Onana the busier of the keepers. “I suppose disappointed not to get the win when we kind of felt it was there for us today, but also a good point to build on the win against Spurs. I think overall it was a positive day for us,” O’Shea said. Reflecting on conceding the early goal, the Irish international said: “I think was a bit of a shock to ourselves, it was a break in play and we can definitely deal with it better but I think how we reacted after that is really promising and shows what we’re about. “We didn’t let that dictate the game because it was so early on, which is big for us. I think in the first half, especially early on, we didn’t implement ourselves as much as we could have. We can definitely run a lot more and the second half was a bit of a graft too.” O’Shea, who joined the Blues from Burnley in the summer, thought the Blues had opportunities to win it after the break following Hutchinson’s excellent leveller. “Definitely, I thought it was quite comfortable in the second half, albeit there was a bit of pressure, but I didn’t think they had any clear-cut chances that we were surprised by, I thought we dealt with it well,” he said. “Obviously their keeper’s made two excellent saves from Liam. On another day, they go in and maybe the game’s a bit different. But that’s football.” Despite United being under new management, head coach Ruben Amorim was taking charge for the first time having taken only two training sessions, O’Shea says there weren’t too many surprises with manager Kieran McKenna having prepared his side in his usual great depth. “No, it was quite man-to-man at times on the pitch, so you had to win your individual battles and that was what it was going to take today,” O’Shea said. “There was a lot of effort put in by the boys but before the game we put a big emphasis on that. “Against Spurs, we ran all over them and today we had to do the same. I think that’s part of our DNA and that’s part of how we’ll be successful this season.” Quizzed on how he found facing big names such as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, he added: “It’s fine, I’ve played in the Premier League before, it isn’t something that fazes me. “I relish it, I love playing against the big teams and the big players because you get to see where you’re at and you get to show them how good you are and prove to yourself how good you are too, that’s the main thing.” “A bit of both,” he considered. “A point in the Premier League’s always a good point, no matter who you play and especially against United with a new manager, who we didn’t know a whole lot about. We didn’t know what they were going to be like today. “They played a different way to how they’d played previously with their [last] manager but the gaffer did really well this week, I think he got our tactics spot on, he almost knew what they were going to do in a way, which is a credit to him and a credit to the boys for carrying it out.” Regarding Hutchinson’s first Premier League goal, the Dubliner added: “I was right behind it, to be fair, so it was nice to witness that. “But you see that so often on the training pitch, you’re just waiting for that to go in. Any time he shapes up on the left foot, you’re almost expecting that from him. “Credit to Omari, he literally trains like he plays, so what the fans see of him, that’s how he trains and that’s a credit to him, and that’s why he’s going to go to the very, very top because he has that mentality. “He really wants to improve as a player, obviously he’s young but he’s got a good head on his shoulder, so if he keeps going and putting the performances in like he has today, he’s got a great career ahead of him.” O’Shea has been suffering with an ongoing back problem he has been managing but he says it is now improving. “I’m definitely making progress,” he said. “It was a bit of a tough one. Obviously your back’s hard because you can’t really rest it as such. I was given the all-clear to play with it and to manage it training and the club has helped me really well with that. “I think I’m coming towards the end of that now, which is promising for myself, I just hope I don’t get smashed in the back again and go back to the start! “I had a fracture in a part of my back, the transverse part of my back. I don’t know the full ins and outs, I’m not a physio, but I was told it was a fracture, so that’s what it was.” Looking ahead to the fixtures until the end of the year with seven games to be played, starting at Nottingham Forest next Saturday, he added: “It’s what we’ve been waiting for, having game after game. It’s been quite a stop-start season with the international breaks and I think for us as a group we really relish the games and having the quick turnarounds. “We’ve got a good squad, so we’re going to have to use the whole squad as well, so it’s going to be a good period for us. This is why we’re footballers, what you want to do is play games, so when the games are coming thick and fast, that’s great.”
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