Dubai: It’s not uncommon to have a few unexpected celebrity guests pop in for a visit to Meydan Racecourse, and this week’s visitors to the UAE’s flagship sporting venue were footballers from English Premier League sides Sunderland and Stoke City.
Relegation-threatened Sunderland are currently on a weeklong working break in Dubai, which captain John O’Shea hopes will go a long way when it comes to building confidence in the team when they return to England to battle for survival.
It was horses for courses, however, at Meydan on Thursday night, as he swapped relegation woes for racing action.
The Waterford-born player said: “I have a small interest in racing and have a couple of syndicates with the Sunderland boys and with the Irish national team.
“It’s a good hobby but it’s always difficult to predict a winner when you’re under pressure from the rest of your teammates like I have been, but we’re doing OK.”
O’Shea added: “We’re all over here, just for a short training camp.
“We got knocked out of the FA Cup, so it’s a small bonus coming to Dubai for a small break and a bit of team bonding.
“The climate here is a lot different to what it is in the North East of England, so it’s a big thing for lads after we had a good win before we came out.”
The Black Cats were knocked out of the FA Cup when they were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal at the City Of Light stadium on January 10, but Sam Allardyce’s boys boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a victory over Manchester United in February.
Sunderland next play West Ham United on Saturday, February 27.
“We obviously have a bit of work to do to ensure we stay in the Premier League and hopefully the bit of bonding and training that we doing over here will help us,” said the defender.
Players from Stoke City, also currently at a training camp in Dubai, were unavailable for interviews at Meydan.
