Republic of Ireland assistant manager John O'Shea has heaped praise on Jake O'Brien for the way in which the Everton defender has overcome an early sticky patch to establish himself in the Toffees' starting line-up.
The Corkman signed for Everton from French top flight side Lyon last summer but struggled to break into Sean Dyche's side before the turn of the year.
The dearth of game-time looked to have damaged his international prospects, having just broken into the Boys in Green picture via his impressive showings in Ligue 1.
But David Moyes succeeding Dyche to return for a second spell at Goodison Park has had a remarkable impact on the fortunes of O'Brien, who has become firmly rooted into the starting XI, albeit at right-back rather than his more natural centre-back position.
Republic of Ireland assistant manager John O'Shea has heaped praise on Jake O'Brien for the way in which the Everton defender has overcome an early sticky patch to establish himself in the Toffees' starting line-up.With the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off against Bulgaria looming next week, O'Brien will undoubtedly be at the forefront of Heimir Hallgrimsson's thoughts as he prepares to name his Irish squad on Thursday.
Certainly, he has impressed assistant O'Shea, who lauded the 23-year-old on the*RTÉ Soccer Podcast* .
"It's been brilliant to see," he said, before self-referentially quipping, "I'm just waiting for Jake to go in goal and go in midfield and then he'll be fully complete".
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"But in all seriousness, it's just been brilliant to see because you know the type of kid that Jake is, how dedicated he obviously remained in training at Everton in terms of when the frustration would have been building for him in terms of not playing and not getting game-time.
"But the dedication he's shown to knuckle down, keep training hard and then whatever happens, clubs change their managers and he's got the chance to be ready.
"But that's down to his dedication and professionalism that he was ready to take that chance and has not looked back since.
"He's in a fantastic position at his club now where he's nailed that spot for himself. Obviously he'll have someone coming back fairly soon I think to fight for that position," O'Shea joked in reference to Ireland and Everton captain Seamus Coleman.
"But it's brilliant to see and the more players we have playing week in week out, ideally at the highest level they can possibly play at, I think that will make a difference for us mentally and physically to win those tight games."
O'Brien's new-found positional versatility is something that O'Shea can appreciate, having played across the back four for the Boys in Green - indeed when he faced Bulgaria in 2009, one start was at right-back and the other at centre-back - and even in midfield (and in goal!) for Manchester United.
With Hallgrimsson utilising natural centre-backs at right back of late - Dara O'Shea and Andrew Omobamidele were specifically detailed to play wider in the autumn - O'Brien's shift across at club level adds more depth.
"The more people we have playing and fully confident coming into squads playing at that level will be the key for us being successful I think," said Heineken 0.0 ambassador O'Shea.
"Because their decisions are quicker, everything about what they do on the pitch is quicker, sharper and it's just going to help us in the long run. Whatever the manager decides in terms of the squad final selection and the team final selection, the more players we have playing competitively will make a huge difference for us."
Andrew Moran is on loan at Stoke from Premier League side Brighton
Aside from the mooted inclusion of a small number of League of Ireland-based players, it would appear that Stoke loanee and two-time senior cap Andrew Moran has also caught the eye after an impressive season thus far in the Championship, including in a deeper role at times than the attacking midfield position he has excelled at for the Ireland Under-21s.
"I was down watching Stoke not too long ago - Stoke v Middlesbrough - and Finn (Azaz) had a very good game that evening and he's obviously back in form for his club," said O'Shea.
"But I think Andy in fairness to him has stood out for a team that has obviously had a tough season. Stoke have changed their manager but Andy has remained in position and behind the scenes there, they're very happy with him in terms of what he's producing on the pitch but also the type of character he is around the place too. So hopefully that continues for Andy."
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