O'Shea says he never Indulges in Rice 'what ifs'

Republic of Ireland assistant boss John O'Shea insists he has given no thought to what effect Declan Rice would have had on the team had he not switched allegiance to England.

Arsenal's Rice, who represented the Irish in three friendlies in 2018 before opting to play for the country of his birth, is in line to face his former international side in Saturday's Nations League opener in Dublin. 

Former Republic of Ireland Under-21 player Jack Grealish is also in the England squad for the Aviva Stadium contest.

Asked if he ever wondered 'what if', O'Shea - who played alongside Rice for Ireland - replied: "No, not at all.

"Look, it's one of them - it's a focus on us, the players that are here, the players that want to be here. It's as simple as that.

"He's not here, he's in the England squad so you can't keep talking about it."