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Newcastle United are back in Premier League action this weekend
Ipswich Town defender Dara O’Shea has said they are one of the ‘hardest-working’ teams in the league ahead of their clash against Newcastle United. The Tractor Boys were promoted from the Championship last season along with Leicester City and Southampon.
Kieran McKenna has guided the Suffolk club from League One to the top flight since his switch to Portman Road. Prior to joining his current club, he had coaching spells at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Speaking ahead of their match against Newcastle, O’Shea has said, as per an interview with the Independent: “Obviously, football is quite a black and white sport in a way, great when you’re playing well, and then when you’re not playing well or not playing… it’s really tough, and there’s no in-between. I had it at Burnley at the start of last season, where I was taken out of the team and wasn’t spoken to. You’re just looking for that reason.
“So that bit of clarity - even if it’s needing to have a dig out - you need that at times. You need to understand where you stand and I think he’s really good at that. He has been for me. Communication is obviously massive in football, to play your best football. I always say you need to have a clear mind and just know what you need.
“We’ve been in every game. And look, I’ve been on the other end at Burnley where I’ve been wiped out by teams in the first 20, 30 minutes. But here it’s quite different, and that feeling within the group, even though we probably haven’t got the points to show for it, we’ve caused a lot of teams problems. You hear it from other players after the game, ‘you boys are tough to play against’. We’re one of the hardest-working teams in the league and I don’t think other teams will enjoy coming up against us this season."
He added: “I love the battle most. My mentality as a player is that I just want to win my battle and I don’t want to let them get one better than me. I’ve had it a lot in recent weeks where we’ve gone a bit man to man and stuff like that.”
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Ipswich signed O’Shea in the summer to bolster their defensive department. The Republic of Ireland international, who has made 32 caps for his country so far in his career, has made 14 appearances in all competitions so far this season, 13 of which have come in the league.
He rose into West Brom’s first-team as a youngster after loan spells away at Hereford United and Exeter City. The centre-back went on to play 107 games for the Baggies and chipped in with seven goals from the back.
Burnley snapped him up in 2023 and he spent just over 12 months with the Clarets. He found the net on five occasions in 37 matches under the guidance of their former head coach Vincent Kompany before joining Newcastle’s upcoming opponents for a new challenge.
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