Keith Treacy: Ireland in 'safe hands' with John O'Shea for March friendlies but FAI have been 'reactive' in managerial search

Former Republic of Ireland international Keith Treacy believes the Boys in Green will be in "safe hands" under the stewardship of incoming interim manager John O'Shea but feels the FAI have been "reactive" in their search for a permanent head coach.

Ex-Ireland and Manchester United, O'Shea, has been appointed to take temporary charge of the Irish senior men's team for the friendly matches against Belgium and Switzerland in late March, before the FAI intend to announce a permanent successor to Stephen Kenny in April.

A veteran of 118 Ireland caps, the Waterford native served as an assistant during the latter part of Kenny's managerial tenure and also worked with Jim Crawford's Under-21 set-up prior to that.

While O'Shea may lack managerial experience, former international team-mate Treacy backed him to steady the ship for the two friendlies before the next permanent manager is in place.

"John has an awful lot between his ears. I think he sees the game really, really well. You don't spend that amount of time at Manchester United and get that amount of appearances if you don't know what you're doing," he told RTÉ's Game On, adding anecdotally his memories of a quietly spoken and thoughtful character whose career "demands respect".

.@Corktod on the career of John O'Shea after his appointment, on an interim basis, as men's@IrelandFootball manager #rtesoccer #coybig #soccer pic.twitter.com/jKKSTEW894

"I think we're in safe hands for the two games. I think if the Lee Carsley stuff is true and he's waiting in the wings and John is just going to get us down the road till the point where Lee is unemployed (if he parts ways with the England Under-21s), I think that's a great move.

"But that's still not set in stone and we're still hoping