JOHN O’Shea could become only the sixth player to reach 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland next week, but the Sunderland defender admits he is only focused on helping his country qualify for their third major tournament in 12 years.

O’Shea is in Martin O’Neill’s squad for the 2016 European Championships qualifying double-header with Gibraltar and Germany and if he plays in both the 33-year-old will join a distinguished list of players to reach a century of appearances.

The former Manchester United defender made his debut against Croatia back in 2001 and if he plays against minnows Gibraltar on Saturday, he could reach the milestone against world champions Germany on Tuesday.

In an international career spanning over 13 years, O’Shea has only been to one major tournament with Ireland when they qualified for the Euro 2012.

O’Neill’s men won their opening qualifier 2-1 in Georgia last month and while O’Shea admits it will be a proud moment to follow in the footsteps on Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Kevin Kilbane, Steve Staunton and Damian Duff, the Sunderland centre-back is only focussed on qualifying from a tough group that also contains Poland and Scotland.

“It will be very special for me if it does happen, but it will be one of those things I’ll try not to think about too much during the game,” O’Shea said. “My 100th cap could come against the world champions, so that’s a nice game for it to happen!

“It will be something I will look back on more when I have finished in the game and not playing. It will be special at the time for my family, friends and old clubs.

“It will be a very proud moment, but when you have been in the game quite a while and you have stayed committed and injury free then you get these milestones.

“Statistics are there and they mean a lot but ultimately you want to be out there winning games. I have only been to one major tournament with Ireland so to get to the Euro finals with my country would be very special.

“That’s what I’m focussing on. It will be a big thing for the future of the young ones coming through as well, so we have got to try and get there.”

O’Shea left for international duty in a buoyant mood after leading Sunderland to their first Premier League win of the season against Stoke on Saturday.

Gus Poyet’s men have only been beaten once – to bottom club Queens Park Rangers – and the Irishman believes their performances have warranted a better return.

He said: “The start of the season has been frustrating as we have been playing well but not getting the wins so the victory over Stoke was very important.

“We started the game well and Stoke counter attacked us. We knew that was coming and we were well aware of their threat on the break so it was disappointing to concede so quickly after taking the lead. “But the reaction was very good. It was a big result going into the international break.

“OK, a draw would not have been a disaster but we would still not have won a game. Thankfully that is now taken care of and we can build on this. We are unbeaten at home and we have to take that forward.”

Poyet celebrated his first anniversary at the Stadium of Light yesterday and O’Shea believes the club is in a far more stable position that it was when he took over.

The Uruguayan has managed to steady the ship after Paolo Di Canio’s disastrous reign and after guiding the Black Cats to Premier League safety in May, the defender has revealed the squad is closer than ever under Poyet.

“It is much more stable and the club needed that,” O’Shea said. “The manager showed at Brighton at his previous job that he knows what he is doing and the attitude of the gaffer and his staff is amazing. “They want the players to go on and improve and build themselves up individually and as a team. Hopefully we are doing that.

“The manager has built up a tight knit squad and although we did not manage to keep a clean sheet against Stoke, which is disappointing, we have got three points.”

Goals from Connor Wickham and Steven Fletcher sealed the win over Stoke at the Stadium of Light with both strikers nothing their first league goals of the season.

Scoring has been a big problem for the Black Cats in recent months, but O’Shea is confident Wickham and Fletcher can solve that problem.

He said: “They were two fantastic headers by Connor and Steven and they both showed the determination to get those goals and get us back ahead then the third just finished it off nicely.

“Connor showed what he can do last season and Steven, when he is fully fit for us, shows he can score goals.

“If we can keep those two really confident and create lots of chances for them they will put them away. They are both hungry and both got their rewards.”