Republic of Ireland 0-1 Switzerland: John O'Shea keen to land permanent manager job

O'Shea presided over a draw against Belgium and a loss against Switzerland in his two games as interim Republic of Ireland manager

Interim Republic of Ireland manager John O'Shea says that managing his country is "always something he has wanted to do".

O'Shea ended his interim reign with a 1-0 friendly loss against Switzerland after a 0-0 draw against Belgium.

The Football Association of Ireland [FAI], are set to announce a permanent manager in April.

"Let's see what happens," O'Shea told Virgin Media when asked if he wanted the job on a permanent basis.

"It is something I have always wanted to do and now I have had a taste of it for two games, it has only given me the taste for a lot more.

"I can only speak for how much myself and the staff have enjoyed working with the players and the environment, it has always been electric for me working with the Republic of Ireland."

'We deserved something from the game'

Shaqiri's 30th goal for Switzerland helped them to victory at the Aviva Stadium

O'Shea, who won 118 caps for his country, saw his side fall to a narrow defeat against Switzerland at the Aviva after a well taken Xherdan Shaqiri free-kick.

After a positive display against Belgium in their first friendly on Saturday, the former defender was disappointed with the showing of his side in the first half against Switzerland.

He did, however, praise the resilience of his side to put in a much improved display in the second half, albeit they lacked a clinical edge to get something from the game.

Mikey Johnston missed a close-range header, while substitute Adam Idah blazed over the crossbar from 25 yards as the Republic of Ireland ended the international window without scoring a goal.

"There is frustration, but sometimes you have to hold your hands up, Switzerland were the better team in the first half. They are a quality team and they dominated us a bit too much," he admitted.

"They scored a well-worked goal from their point of view, but we felt it wasn't a foul. We had to dust ourselves down and we did that, we ended the first half on the front foot like we wanted to."

O'Shea continued: "Second half, I was really pleased with everybody, the fight, the commitment and the quality. A bit more care on the ball in the final third and I think we definitely score and take something out of the game.

"We forced Switzerland back, made changes and we were really aggressive. On another night, we get a couple of goals which I think we deserved."