Sunderland's experienced Ireland international defender John O'Shea has spoken of the positive impact James McClean has had on the team since emerging on to the scene as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Blackburn on December 11.
McClean's impact has gradually increased and he has started in each of Sunderland's last three games.

John O'Shea and Kevin Doyle are back in the Ireland team for tomorrow night's Euro 2012 play-off second leg against Estonia in Lansdowne Road.
Stephen Kelly at right back and Jon Walters in attack are the players that make way for the returning duo.
O'Shea comes back into the side following a hamstring injury, while Doyle returns from suspension to partner Robbie Keane in the Irish attack.

Following his move to Sunderland, John O'Shea has spoken to The Irish Times about his time at Manchester United.

Did you leave United because you were looking for a change of scenery?

"No. I always said that the manager would come and tell me what games I'd be able to get and different things.

Quick Reminder, Real Life What started brightly with a forward line of DBent, Gyan, and Campbell came closer to the relegation zone than anyone who watched the first half of the season or looked at the final standings would ever have guessed. February, March, and the first half of April were an unmitigated disaster with the club earning exactly 1 point between Feb 1 and April 16.

I had an interesting interaction with a reporter/writer that I was not familiar with until yesterday. His name is Tom Williams and he can be found on Twitter at @Tomwfootball). His original Tweeted premise, on the occasion of Patrick Vieira's retirement as an active player, was spot on. There is an entire generation of lanky midfielders - mostly French or French-speaking West African - who have

Whilst still struggling to the cope with the loss of John O'Shea and Wes Brown to Sunderland, we've had a chat with Collin Randall from the excellent Mackem blog, Salut Sunderland, about their new signings.

Scott the Red: Are you pleased with the signings of Wes Brown and John O'Shea?

Sunderland have completed the signing of Manchester United and Ireland defender John O'Shea.
O'Shea, 30, has signed a four-year deal at the Stadium of Light after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.
Manager Steve Bruce said: "O'Shea's wealth of experience and versatility will be great attributes for us.

It was an end of an era for Defender's John O' Shea and Wes Brown as they both left Old Trafford for Sunderland today to link up with former United Captain Steve Bruce.

O' Shea made 255 appearances in nearly every position including one in goals, while Brown made 361 appearances in a trophy laden Old Trafford career.

"PICTURE: O'Shea and Brown in Sunderland Kits" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

"John has been an outstanding servant to the club, since he broke into the first team almost a decade ago," Sir Alex told the official site. "His versatility, calmness under pressure and his commitment to the cause at United means that fans will remember him with great affection. John has won so many medals – and has deserved every one of them.

A few months in to the season, after Rafael da Silva started playing regularly at right back, I was frustrated that the manager had started John O'Shea there for so much of the season. Rafael was great going forward and tenacious in defence, whilst O'Shea just seemed to bumble along, doing his job.

Quinn hopeful of bringing in Man Utd man Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has revealed the club are getting closer to signing Manchester United utility man John O'Shea. This is of limited interest to OTP and wouldn't justify a post under ordinary circumstances. But since it gives an opportunity to feature O'Shea's shot against West Ham [.

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lancaster, England

It's Wednesday, the 2011 Champions League Final kicks off in 4 days and it's certain that numerous thoughts will be troubling the great minds of Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola night and day. One of the greatest concerns will be United's choice for the right-back position whilst Barcelona has a dilemma with left-backs.

O'Shea-That's A Fucking Foul by RepublikOfMancunia

"That's a fucking foul!"

"VIDEO: O'Shea Was Doing It First..." was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.