DARA PROUD OF CAMPAIGN
DARA O’SHEA has described his first season at Burnley as a success, despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League.
The Ireland defender, who is in Portugal ahead of next Tuesday’s friendly against the Euro 2024-bound side, insisted that there were positives to take from a campaign that saw the Turf Moor outfit drop down to the Championship.
O’Shea made a €9m move from West Brom to Burnley last summer and made 37 appearances in all competitions, including 33 in the top-flight.
“First of all, it was obviously really disappointing that it didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, we didn’t achieve what we wanted to do, stay in the division,” he told the Burnley website.
Settle
“But all in all, it has been a successful season where I have learned a lot, obviously played a lot of minutes in the Premier League which is something I wanted to do when I came here, so personally that’s great.
“I think I progressed a lot as the season went on. “I kind of knew myself that it was going to take time to settle in, so once I kind of got my feet on the ground then started playing games and getting into my game.
“It’s the first time in my career where I have had to settle into the club, so I’m proud to have settled in and integrated myself into the group.”
This year’s relegation was O’Shea’s second so far. He went down with West Brom at the end of the 2020/21 season.
The Baggies have yet to bounce back to the Premier League, but the Dubliner is hopeful that he can make a quick return with Burnley, who are on the lookout for a new manager.
Craig Bellamy is interim boss while the Clarets search for new Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany’s replacement.
First up for O’Shea, however, is the second game of an international double-header.
Having played in the
2-1 win over Hungary on Tuesday, he can’t wait to get stuck in against Portugal next week.
“The big nations and big teams are always the ones you want to play in and be involved in, they’re obviously the ones that growing up as a child, you’re wanting to play in one day,” he said.
“Obviously for your country it’s got that extra meaning to it, you know when you play against the big boys, you want to put your best foot forward and do the country proud.
“We all know within the squad what a win against a side like Portugal means, because a win against one of the big sides can affect the nation massively in a positive way, so it’s a privilege to be a part of.
“It will be a challenge coming up against them as it always is, they have some of the world’s best players, but we all have to be at our best and we want to finish the international break strongly.”