He didn’t want to belittle Sunderland’s achievement but he had to be honest.
John O’Shea was basking in the glory of his first victory over his former club since he left in 2011 but the Black Cats captain had to admit it wasn’t like beating the Manchester United of old.
O’Shea’s last game for United was a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford as Alex Ferguson’s side celebrated their Premier League title – it was the fifth of O’Shea’s career.
That day he was lining out in a defence that featured Edwin van der Sar in goal, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Fabio da Silva. The rest of the team was Antonio Valencia, Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney.
On paper that seems a stronger team than Louis van Gaal’s current side. In reality O’Shea would concur.
“They still have some very good attacking players. I thought our full-backs did particularly well in closing them down, but they don’t have as many players as they used to have,” said the Republic of Ireland international, as quoted in Monday’s Daily Telegraph.
When asked if the club for which he played 392 times had lost their aura he was diplomatic and tried to blame it on injuries.
“Because of the season they are having and the amount of injuries they have got, it is difficult for them [to retain their aura],” said O’Shea.
“That said, they had only lost once in 2016 before here. They have been getting a lot of credit recently. They are still a very good team, but, they are not challenging where they want to be in the table, that’s for sure.”
Saturday’s defeat left United in fifth, six points off neighbours City in the final Champions League spot. Anything less than a return to Europe’s top table will be a failure, according to 2008 winner O’Shea.
“Champions League qualification is the minimum target for them. That is the given beforehand, when you look at the squads and the budgets, and what is spent at clubs to get into the Champions League.
“Not just Man United, the top five and six spend big to get into the Champions League, because that is where the rewards are and that is what attracts bigger and better players.
“That is the challenge they have and they are having to adjust. It’s difficult for them. The quality in the Premier League is increasing.”
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