John O’Shea has warned his Republic of Ireland team-mates to focus on Friday’s opponents Wales, not just superstar talisman Gareth Bale.
A former team-mate of Jermain Defoe, the Real Madrid forward is simply unstoppable on his day, but coming up against the world’s best is something O’Shea has grown equipped to thanks to an immense Premier League career.
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Martin O’Neill’s side currently top their 2018 World Cup qualifying group and victory over Wales would see them move seven points clear of Chris Coleman’s side with five games to play.
And although all eyes from the stands will be on Bale, the Sunderland captain admitted they can’t afford to open the door to the Welshman’s team-mates.
"When you're playing in the Premier League, whether it's against [Sergio] Aguero, [Harry] Kane, [Romelu] Lukaku, [Diego] Costa, there are top players there.
"The team has to get on with it. If you focus too much on one player, you forget about their other good players and they come to the fore.”
He continued: "You respect him – obviously he's a very good player, he's playing for Real Madrid – but you forget about that and you get on with it to do your best against him.
“We’ve had a fantastic start to the campaign but we’re also fully aware that there are tough games to come and Friday’s against Wales is certainly one of them.
“When you play a team like Wales it’s like a derby game and form can go out of the window, so it’s all about what happens on the night and ultimately the result.
“At home we want to be very strong and as I said we’ve had a great start, but full focus is now on Wales.”