John O'Shea believes that a trio of new arrivals will blend seamlessly into the Ireland squad for the upcoming internationals against Belgium and Switzerland.
The interim Ireland manager will be in charge for the upcoming international window, ahead of the planned announcement of Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor next month, and he named his squad for the double header in Dublin earlier on Thursday.
The uncapped trio of Sammie Szmodics, Finn Azaz and Jake O’Brien were named in the 26-man squad, while there was also a return for the quartet of Michael Obafemi, Robbie Brady, Callum O'Dowda and Seamus Coleman.
Szmodics was called into a previous squad under Kenny’s tenure, however, he did not see any gametime and subsequently missed out due to family commitments.
However, the in-form Blackburn frontman has made himself available to join up for the upcoming games, and he brings with him a burgeoning reputation, having scored 27 goals so far this season.
And the interim boss said that the Ewood Park man is looking forward to starting his international career in the green of Ireland, despite rumours that he was in line to be called up by Hungary.
"Any of the conversations I had with Sammie were all straightforward," said O’Shea, speaking at the squad announcement.
"He is buzzing. He’s delighted to be coming in and it’s great to have a player like him in such good form consistently all season. He has got that versatility in terms of where he’s playing at the minute. He’s floating from a striker into a 10 position too.
"It’s great to have an option like that to bring into the squad."
Szmodics is among a gang of six selected in the forward department, named alongside Evan Ferguson, Adam Idah, Obafemi, Chiedozie Ogbene, and Troy Parrott.
And the manager believes that the Blackburn man will offer a range of options when it comes to selecting his attacking unit for the upcoming matches.
"From what I have noticed from watching Sammie over the last number of seasons in the Championship, every level he has gone to, he has responded to it and been able to cope no problem," said O’Shea.
"He has just grown and has that maturity in his game. I think he’s versatile in that sense.
"It won't be a problem to him whatever player he’s picked alongside, or if he is picked that he will cope with that.
"He’ll bring an intelligence in his game that he has developed over the last few years, whether that be false positions, he can drift in off the left, drift in off the right, he can cope with any type of strike partner, a front four combination, or front three or whatever it might be.
"He’s very flexible like that, and it is good to have a player like that coming in scoring 27 goals, 21 in the league, it is very important."
Azaz is also plying his trade in the Championship and moved clubs recently, signing for Middlesbrough from Plymouth, and O’Shea is well aware of his attributes in the midfielder, having working with him during his time with the under-21s.
"Finn was having a great season with Plymouth and got signed by Middlesbrough and is doing really well and has scored a lot of goals," said O’Shea. "A really good creative technical option for us going forward.
"I spoke to (Middlesbrough manager) Michael (Carrick) about him as well and he’s really enjoying working with him. I think he’ll add something different to the squad, definitely."
And O’Shea had to look further afield for his other new arrival, calling up the promising centre-half O’Brien who is plying his trade with Ligue 1 side Lyon.
O’Brien left Crystal Palace during the summer and signed for the French club, and while the team endured a tough start to the season, their return to form coincided with the young Cork prospect becoming a regular in the team.
In fact, O’Brien scored his first goal of the season with his new club in November, which handed Lyon their first win of the season. They currently sit comfortably in midtable.
And O’Shea appears to be a big fan of the former Cork City defender, who mirrored the interim manager’s career in that he left England for some first team experience – the Waterford man left Manchester United on loan to sign for Royal Antwerp in Belgium back in 2001.
"Jake is another player I have worked with in the U21s," said O’Shea.
"It’s been brilliant to see what he has done in the last year to 18 months. Going out to Europe to learn his trade, leaving Palace going to Lyon and establishing himself in a top-flight league. It’s been brilliant to see.
"There is great competition in that area of the pitch as well. He’ll have lots of competition but it’s great for us, and me being part of the defensive camp shall we say, that we can help him improve even further over the two games coming up."
And speaking of competition for places, O’Shea would not be drawn into the conversation as to who is the best Ireland goalkeeper at the moment, following the recent elevation of Caoimhin Kelleher to regular first-team football at Liverpool.
"Healthy competition at the minute," said O’Shea.
"Great to see Caoimhin getting a run of games, like Gav [Bazunu] has had all season.
"It's a tricky one. Mark [Travers] was doing well at Stoke but was called back to play cup games for Bournemouth.
"In the summer in Turkey I could see the real depth of quality that we have.
"We'll get Belgium out of the way, pick one for that and see what happens. It's a nice problem to have."
"The big thing for me is the relationship you build up between the goalkeeper and the back four or back five. I think that is crucial in terms of the team being successful," added O’Shea when asked whether goalkeeper rotation was an option.
In other squad news, it was announced that Joe Hodge and Andrew Moran will join up with the senior squad after the U21 game against San Marino on 22 March, and will be available for the Switzerland fixture.
Ryan Manning is currently being monitored and may also be available for the second game, while Kasey McAteer was in line to be selected, however, the Leicester City man is currently injured.
The manager was also asked about striker Tom Cannon, who has represented Ireland up to U21 level, however, he departed the international scene following a reported approach by the English FA during Kenny's tenure.
"Look, Tom is concentrating on his club stuff. It's as simple as that. That was it," said O'Shea
"No, I have no worries like that at all," he added, when asked whether he had concerns that he would not declare for Ireland.
