JOHN O’SHEA has insisted the door is not closed for home-based players to make the Ireland senior squad.
Heimir Hallgrímsson came under fire for his response to Shamrock Rovers’ European run when he spoke positively about how players could earn move off the back of it.
Rovers boss Stephen Bradley was particularly critical, suggesting the Ireland boss had said players had to move abroad to get picked.
In the January transfer window, Rovers lost Neil Farrugia to Barnsley, Darragh Burns opted for Grimsby Town over a permanent move to Tallaght with Johnny Kenny returning to Celtic when his loan was up.
Kenny and Rovers’ Josh Honohan have been included in the preliminary squad for the Nations League play-off against Bulgaria.
It remains to be seen if either makes the cut on Thursday but Hallgrímsson’s right-hand man O’Shea cited Mason Melia – who will joins Spurs from St Pat’s next January – as a reason why the League of Ireland was not being ignored.
O’Shea – who watched Honohan in action against Shelbourne the Friday before last – said: “Teams who’ve done well in Europe have talent who’ve come under our scrutiny.
“We must look at every avenue to see if they can help us out in any way.
“You can see the talent from the start of the season and the profile that the league has in terms of Mason’s move to Tottenham Hotspur.
“We’ve to look at what players can help us win games.
“Ideally you want every player fully fit and playing because it would make a huge difference to us.
“Every player will be individual. We won’t care if they’re in Dublin, Waterford, Turkey or Scotland – if they’re playing, fit and competitive, we want those players.
“I was fortunate to get out on loan to Belgium and felt it really benefitted me, not just football but maturing as a person. Hopefully they’re playing. That’s what matters.”
O’Shea and Hallgrímsson were both at Molineux on Saturday as Jake O’Brien continued at right-back for Everton – ahead of fit again Séámus Coleman – with Matt Doherty also playing for Wolves.
On O’Brien’s breakthrough since David Moyes returned to Goodison Park, O’Shea told RTE’s soccer podcast: “It’s been brilliant to see because you know how dedicated he remained in training when he was frustrated from not playing.
“He’s not looked back since and is in the fantastic position of nailing down that. He’ll have someone coming back to fight for that position.”
