Former Reading coach, John O'Shea, has joined Michael O'Neil's backroom staff at Championship rivals Stoke City.

The 118-cap Republic of Ireland defender joined the Royals in 2018 and played more than 10 times before retiring and joining Jose Gomes' backroom staff.

A well-respected figure within the club in Berkshire, he twinned his role in Berkshrie with being the assistant manager of Republc of Ireland Under-21s.

Departing last summer, the Premier League great- with almost 400 Manchester United appearances to his name- has now joined the Potters.

Manager O’Neill said: “John is at the start of his coaching career. He had a spell at Reading after his career as a player drew to a close and is involved at international level.

“I think he will bring a great deal to us. In coaching you bring your standards as a player and I think everyone knows that John O’Shea had extremely high standards as a player.

“He had a fantastic playing career but he’s very keen to learn as a coach as well and he has settled in extremely well.

“I think he brings the right mix of not only his expertise but also his personality and he’s a good person to have around, particularly around young players.”

He is not the only Reading connection at the Bet365 Stadium, with midfielder Josh Laurent joining the club this summer and former O'Shea teammate at the- then Madejski Stadium, Lewis Baker, skippering the side.