FOOTBALL: ALL THE WAY FOR O'SHEA

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has promised John O'Shea he will be an automatic choice for his first team next season.

The Manchester United manager admits he has been hugely impressed by the performances of the young Republic of Ireland international so far this campaign.

O'Shea was thrown into action as an emergency central defender at the start of the season because of an injury crisis.

But he has shown maturity well beyond his 21 years and Ferguson says his performances have caused him to rethink his plans.

O'Shea is likely to start Tuesday night's Champions League clash against Olympiakos at right back following a string of excellent displays, but it is in the centre where his future lies.

Former French international Laurent Blanc is currently partnering Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the United defence. But the veteran has let it be known that this will definitely be his final season in the game.

It has long been assumed that England man Wes Brown would succeed Blanc as soon as he hung up his boots, but Ferguson admits circumstances have changed.

Brown damaged his ankle in a Champions League qualifier in early August and is not expected back for another couple of months.

But when he returns he will find O'Shea is now firmly ahead of him in the defensive pecking order.

Ferguson says he is so taken with the performances he has witnessed from the Irishman so far this season that he will definitely play him alongside Ferdinand next season.

The United boss said: "John has done fantastically well. I look at him and Rio, think of next season and think to myself - there's your partnership.

"I remember saying it right from the first time I saw him, he could read the game superbly. But now he has size, now he has the shoulders. He looks like a centre half now. Last year he was a big beanpole."

Ferguson says he has rarely seen a young defender who mixes physical power with such a deft touch.

O'Shea's current good fortune is further bad news for Brown, who looked a world-class player in the making when he burst onto the scene four years back.

The Manchester-born 22-year-old has suffered a series of crippling ankle injuries, but has not helped his cause with a number of disastrous displays in high-profile matches.

His inability to communicate properly has seen United suffer on a number of occasions, particularly in the Champions League last season.

Brown and Fabien Barthez twice got themselves in a tangle against Deportivo La Coruna at Old Trafford last October, giving away two soft goals and contributing to a 3-2 defeat.

O'Shea, on the other hand, has displayed remarkable assurance since making his first League start against West Brom in August.

His dislay against Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in United's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge won him Sky's Man of the Match award.

Ferguson says he has never doubted his young player's ability but was keen to see how mentally strong he was.

Shortly before United's reserves departed for a match at Sunderland last season, the manager discovered O'Shea would come up against compatriot Niall Quinn.

He said: "I remember going to Sunderland and playing him against big Quinny.

"I said to him before the game: 'Big Quinny is delighted you're playing because you'll be the easiest opponent he has ever played against - you're soft, you're weak.'

"Quinny didn't get a kick all night, we played really well and John was outstanding as we won 2-1.

"Last season we went to Arsenal in the Worthington Cup and he did really well there - it was just that lack of strength when it came to a real tackle.

"But you know young people, they come back off a summer holiday and suddenly they are men.

"I said to him: 'Bloody hell Sheasy, look at the shoulders on you!'

"The thighs are there now, so when he tackles he has got power.

"Look at him in that Chelsea game against Hasselbaink. He has power you see, but he also has ability."

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