AFTER handing John O’Shea a two-year contract extension at the age of 33 this week, Gus Poyet has urged more players to take a leaf out of the defender’s book.

O’Shea’s impressive start to the season was rewarded on Thursday when he signed a deal that will keep him at the Stadium of Light until 2017.

The Black Cats captain will have celebrated his 36th birthday by then, but while Sunderland’s decision to hand him a deal that length might have raised an eyebrow or two, Poyet believes the club is seeing the best of the defender - and team-mate Wes Brown - at the moment.

“They know the game better and know what is coming,” the Black Cats boss said. “The fitness is the difficult part to keep and to keep it week in and week out. That’s something only some can do and I think John does it better than Wes. It depends on how you cope with that side of the game.

“Desire is the other factor and you need to show that all the time, you need to be there.

“In pre-season John came back fitter than ever and that’s a credit to him. That’s why he has been performing the way he has been performing.

“Central defenders can get away with reading the game more, rather than running around as much.”

O’Shea’s contract extension capped off an unforgettable week for the centre-back, who celebrated winning his 100th international cap by scoring a late equaliser against world champions Germany on Tuesday.

The centre-back found the energy to go up for a corner in stoppage time and get ahead of Mats Hummels to prod home, and Poyet admits the manner of the goal epitomises O’Shea’s character.

He said: “He can go up with the armband on in the last minute and get a very good reaction goal against Germany. That is how to look after yourself and how to stay in the game.

“That is the only difficulty I found because I wanted to play until I was 34 or 35 and it gets harder.

“I think the hunger is the most important thing. When you win, win, win, you can relax, but these two are not that type of characters. That’s very good because they want to keep playing, keep fit and keep helping the team.

“The way they conduct themselves is exactly what you want to see from your senior players.

“I was lucky getting here just when John O’Shea and Wes Brown came back. They have everything going for them at the most, physically, mentally and the desire to carry on. I am delighted to have them both on board.”

O’Shea’s current contract was due to expire next summer and keen not to avoid a similar situation to the one that resulted in Jack Colback leaving on a free and joining rivals Newcastle, Sunderland acted quickly.

Brown has also entered the last 12 months of his deal at the Stadium of Light, but Poyet revealed the club will make a decision over whether to offer the 35-year-old an extra year or two after Christmas.

“The next three or four months will decide on Wes,” Poyet said. “We will see how much he is involved. So far he has had no problems apart from a little thing a few weeks ago.

“He is a slightly different case to John because he is a bit older. The next three or four months will be important for him.

“He went nearly two years without playing before I came here but sometimes that can help you because you have been out for so long and your body can recover.

Meanwhile, Poyet confirmed he is close to signing France right-back Anthony Reveillere on a short-term deal.

With Billy Jones and Sebastian Coates both injured, the Uruguayan is down to the bare bones at the back and former France international Reveillere has been training with the squad this week. It is likely he will be offered an initial three-month deal.

Poyet said: “Anthony is a highly experienced defender.

“He knows the role, reads the game well, is comfortable in possession and is always very assured.

“He was playing in Italy last season which is a different kind of football and now it’s just a matter of him seeing the physical side that is such a part of English football.

“Everybody knows we are short at the back.

“We are coping with the situation as best we can but do not have a lot of options.”