Rising Ireland star Dara O’Shea is reaping the rewards of his education at League Two’s school of hard knocks.
That’s according to his former Exeter City team-mate Pierce Sweeney who has been following the West Brom ace’s rise to senior international ranks with interest.
The pair were defensive partners-in-crime for the Grecians during the 2018/19 season when O’Shea made 33 appearances on loan from the Baggies.
And Bray man Sweeney - now in his fifth year with Exeter - feels that was the making of the 21-year-old who won his first senior Irish cap in October.
Stephen Kenny promoted O’Shea from the Under-21s in October when his squad was hit by Covid withdrawals and he started in Finland.
He then replaced crocked John Egan early on in the England friendly at Wembley and started against Wales and Bulgaria in November.
It was a joyless year for the national team but O’Shea was the surprise success story and could have a long future in the side.
“It’s an unbelievable story,” Sweeney told Mirror Sport. “We had a player at Exeter (Jimmy Oates) who played with Dara on loan at Hereford and he recommended him to us.
“It took him a while to get used to League Two football, but the minute he did it was a breeze for him.
“He would have liked to play total football as he came from West Brom’s academy and their Under-23s, where the centre-halves play out from the back.
“But League Two pitches are not as good as Championship or academy level so there was no time for that.
“It’s about getting up the pitch, winning your headers and playing against grown men with 500 games under their belt who might elbow you, stick a head in and cut you.
“He had a bit to learn and made a couple of mistakes here and there. He came out of the team, and then back in.
“It didn’t look like it affected him and his mentality got a lot stronger purely from playing in front of 6,000 and 7,000 fans every week.
“It was sink or swim and he adapted well against vastly experienced men who are driven to win matches at all costs because they’ve mortgages to pay.”
Under former Baggies boss Slaven Bilic, O’Shea broke through at West Brom last season and has been a mainstay in the Premier League.
Sweeney and O’Shea remain good pals and their respective girlfriends speak to each other on a daily basis.
And Sweeney is convinced that O’Shea can become a big player for Ireland under new boss Kenny.
“People get opportunities because someone else was injured, unavailable or just not performing and that happened for Dara,” he said.
“He took it with both hands. He played right-back, left-back, right-sided centre-half, left-sided centre-half ….he’ll probably turn up in goal in March!
“But he was doing that before West Brom and it’ll only give managers more reasons to pick him.
“He has seized the opportunity and looks comfortable in that environment. He’s a good defender, good in the air, a great lad and humble.”
Sweeney added: “Sometimes the country loves being negative about the senior team but there’s a lot of exciting players coming through the ranks to give it a lift.
“Stephen Kenny wants to give young lads an opportunity and if you’re good enough, you’re old enough and Dara is showing that.”
This weekend, both players have their FA Cup hats on but while O’Shea is away to Blackpool, Sweeney is nursing an injury as Exeter host Sheffield Wednesday.
He shipped a hamstring strain against Forest Green on St Stephen’s Day and although back in training, is touch and go to face the managerless Championship strugglers at St James Park.
Sweeney’s contract at Exeter is also up this summer and with Covid uncertainty hanging over the Football League, he’s unsure what lies in store.
The ex-Bray Wanderers man said: “You don’t know if you’ll get a club in the UK, somewhere abroad or in the League of Ireland.
“I’m only 26 and I’ve another six or seven years left at a decent level. My partner is English and said she wouldn’t mind moving to Ireland and Bray one day.
“I’ve a six-month-old daughter, Myla, which makes it a little more complicated so it just depends on where the game of football takes me.
“It’s a difficult period for League Two and lower league clubs offering contracts because of the pandemic and all the uncertainty surrounding it.
“It’s also tough to predict what’s going to happen with fans coming back or not. So it’s like any job, you have to assess all of your options and make your best decision.
“Unless you’re in the Premier League or Championship, every club will find it a struggle financially.
“But it doesn’t eat away at me, or worry me too much. We’re still playing matches and I think it’s only going to get better."
Sweeney added: “We’ve been through the worst in that regard as we had 11-weeks off - no football at all - before last summer.
“As long as there’s games being played every Saturday and Tuesday, it’s happy days but it’ll be a worrying time if that happens again."
