Sunderland skipper John O’Shea has revealed that he feels contrite about his decision to leave Manchester United. The 35-year-old put an end to his 12-year long association with the Red Devils when he moved to Sunderland in 2011. The veteran defender had made nearly 400 appearances for the English giants winning numerous trophies including five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.
O’Shea, who is set to make his return to Old Trafford on Boxing Day when United host Sunderland, divulged that leaving Manchester United was arguably the toughest decision he made during his career.
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“Should I have stayed at United longer? Yes. I have thought that a few times,” O’Shea told the independent. “I had a year left on my contract and we always said over the years that I could leave if the manager thought I wasn’t going to get enough football to keep me happy. At the time I thought I was going to guarantee myself a lot more football if I went away from United. But it wasn’t an easy decision, that’s for sure.”
The 35-year-old also said that he has not thought about hanging up his boots and he hopes to continue playing for as long as possible.
“I hope it won't be my last trip there[Old Trafford]," he added.
"It's always a special day for me going back and they have hit a bit of form recently, but United do give you a chance to express yourself. I'm fit and well and want to play on. Thankfully, throughout my career, I've rarely had a long spell out or had a major operation so I'm looking to play for as long as possible. I was fairly confident when I left United that I would still be playing now because of the way I looked after myself and did the right things throughout my career.”
Along with O’Shea, Sunderland manager David Moyes also returns to the Theatre of Dreams where he had endured a turbulent 10 months in charge. Moyes and Co. will be hoping to keep a clean sheet and salvage a crucial point which would help them in their battle to avoid the drop. However, that is easier said than done as they are going up a Manchester United who have won three games on the spin and themselves are in need of points to better their position in the race for the Champions League spots.
