Irish Premier League star's reaction to winning club's Player of the Year award
Dara O'Shea says that Ipswich Town's players should be proud of their efforts this season despite the club's immediate return to the Championship.
The 33-times capped Ireland international, who joined the Tractor Boys from Burnley for £15m last summer, has made 34 Premier League appearances this term - more than any other Ipswich player - and 45 appearances so far for club and country this term.
O'Shea's efforts were reflected in him being named the club's player of the year, which he received on Monday night at Ipswich's end of season dinner.
'I'm a bit taken aback by it, I wasn't really expecting it,' the 26-year-old central defender told TownTV. 'It's obviously lovely to receive the recognition for all the hard work we've put in this season.
'I'm really proud of everything we've done as a group this season and looking forward to next season now to see what we can do.
'So many lessons were learned this year that would take years and years to come by if we hadn't been under those circumstances. It's powerful what we've done this season and what we've learned."
It was a difficult season for Kieran McKenna's charges, who have only won four Premier League matches and were destined to finish in the bottom three from a long way out.
'It's such a young group, so little experience in the Premier League, so to compete - which I think we've done quite well, maybe results haven't shown that," said O'Shea, who is actually experiencing his third relegation in five seasons.
"But I think we've competed really well this season and it's something that we've all got to be proud of but also learn from and move on forward.'
O'Shea will join up with Heimir Hallgrimsson's Ireland squad for the friendlies against Senegal at the Aviva Stadium (June 6) and away to Luxembourg (June 10).
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