JOHN O’Shea has got to grips with life after Manchester United and become a real leader, according to Martin O’Neill. But his impressive displays on and off the field pose no threat to Lee Cattermole’s grip on the Sunderland captaincy.

With Stockton-born Cattermole’s hamstring injury keeping him out of tonight’s FA Cup fourth-round replay with former club Middlesbrough, O’Shea will again wear the armband.

After eight straight games in the centre of defence, the versatile Republic of Ireland defender is starting to show the qualities previous manager Steve Bruce was hoping for when he bought the 30-year-old.

“He is doing very, very well,” said O’Neill. “Of course we are going to concede goals but we’ve done very well in that aspect recently (Sunderland have conceded just three since O’Shea began his run of games in the centre).

“He and Wes Brown have been really terrific. They’ve tried to help the younger players, maybe it’s because of their upbringing.

“O’Shea’s whole demeanour around the place has been very helpful indeed. I’m delighted he’s started to play the way he did for Manchester United.”

Until joining the Black Cats, O’Shea and Brown had only played for one club (a couple of early loan spells for the former apart) and one manager. While Brown looked the part as soon as the competitive games started, O’Shea’s initial months were disrupted by minor injuries.

“When you do leave a football club and you’ve been very successful you feel you want to do more to show why you had the success there,” said O’Neill, transferred four times after winning the European Cup with Nottingham Forest.

“There is a settling-in period for everybody, particularly players who have been at a club for so long. It’s a real change – a change of atmosphere, a change of culture, moving your family up, things like that.

“It is genuinely difficult. It did take a bit of time. I obviously wasn’t here for the early part of the season but I’ve been very pleased with him since I’ve been here. No matter who you’ve played for you still need to come in and start off well at a football club and play with confidence. Perhaps his confidence was a bit low, for whatever reason.

“He had a few injuries to contend with and that is definitely off-putting. You don’t feel as if you’re absolutely right.

“John has done very well at centre-half, but I’m not sure what the answer would be if I asked him what position he prefers. At this moment needs must.”

O’Shea’s situation was further complicated because his wife Yvonne gave birth to their first child in July, and he appears to have become something of a father figure at work as well as home.

“His willingness to help the younger lads is very important, they can approach him,” O’Neill noted. “There are no airs and graces about him. He’s been very helpful in the dressing room.”

It sounds like perfect captaincy material but in his own more aggressive way, O’Neill has found club captain Cattermole equally impressive.

“I have two captains,” O’Neill concluded. “John is a different type altogether. When Lee is fit and available and back in the team he will become captain again.

“Lee’s been playing wonderfully well for us and would have loved to have played tonight, but it wasn’t to be. It is a shame but none of the other injured players will be back either. We will go as strongly as we can.”

No Sunderland players are expected to return from injury at the Riverside, though Fraizer Campbell could return after being kept on the bench at Stoke City. O’Neill was understandably reluctant to ask the striker to play twice in half a week after 18 months without first-team football.

The winners of tonight’s tie face Arsenal in round five.