New Birmingham City manager Wayne Rooney has explained why he has recruited former Manchester United team-mate John O’Shea to his coaching staff.
It was announced on Wednesday that our all-time leading goalscorer has taken charge of the Championship club, on a three-and-a-half year contract.
O’Shea has been working as Republic of Ireland’s assistant manager and, of course, as a popular presence on MUTV’s Match Day Live programme. But now his focus is on Birmingham and helping his former team-mate, Rooney, to achieve success.
Wayne gave his first interview as Blues boss on Wednesday and told the club’s official channel that Sheasy's mentality is vital to their mission. “I want to win, I think it's as simple as that.
“To win, there are a lot of factors that need to do take place. It's the reason why I have brought in the coaching staff that I have brought with me. Obviously, John O'Shea, I have played with him, I know his mentality and he has worked in the Championship before.”
“Ashley Cole is a born winner, with the medals he has won throughout his career. Pete Shuttleworth, who knows the club really well, has worked at the club before and has been with me in my two previous jobs.
“And Carl Robinson, who has managed Vancouver, has managed out in Australia, but is also a top coach who has been coaching with me at DC United.
“So the coaching staff that I have brought in will all help to develop the players, but help us to win. That is the important thing. This club needs to get back to winning, that is the reason why I have come in. I really believe with the group of players we have got, we are looking to win.”
Just hours before Rooney and O’Shea’s appointments were confirmed, we shared a clip from our latest ‘My Perfect Player’ episode with Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves.
When discussing mentality, the United legends both agreed that Sheasy was a shining light:
“Do you who had the mindset as well and it would go under the radar? Somebody like Sheasy,”said Rio.
“To play the role Sheasy played, to come in and to play numerous positions, always give a minimum seven out of 10, always solid. Sometimes he came in from the cold, but he trained every day, he never missed training, he was never injured. The mindset and mentality to be that guy as well, and the value he had in our squad. Someone like Sheasy was so important.”
“I think that is what made that team so great. As much as the starting XI was great, you had Sheasy, Fletch, Wes, Ji-sung, five or six guys who you could pop in and even if they hadn't played for a month, you could guarantee they would give you a seven or eight out of 10 performance. Honestly, I think that is the thing about United. For me it is the mentality, it is in the blood.”