ROBBIE KEANE HAS reiterated his desire to break into management. 

Following a lengthy career retrospective on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, focus switched to the future, with Keane stating his desire to break into management while revealing he has turned down opportunities that “didn’t feel right.” 

Keane was not asked and did not raise his current status at the FAI, where he remains under contract but without a role at the Association.

His contract with the FAI, first agreed in 2018 when John Delaney was CEO, expires this summer. Keane was part of Mick McCarthy’s coaching staff in 2019 but was not retained by Stephen Kenny. He has twice been overlooked when the position has become available, following the exits of Damien Duff and Anthony Barry. 

“I have been lucky I have had a few years with Mick McCarthy and Woodie [Jonathan Woodgate] at Middlesbrough so I’ve crammed in two jobs as an assistant at the same time”, said Keane. [That was] very important: a good learning for me, a good understanding how the club runs. As a player, you don’t see what happens upstairs and around the club. It was definitely an eye-opener. 

“Now I want to do my own thing. I have had a few opportunities but they didn’t feel right for me.” 

Keane stressed pragmatism when asked by Jamie Carragher when asked how a Robbie Keane team would play. 

“It depends on what kind of players I’d be given. My philosophy would be a high-pressing team that plays through the lines quickly. I want to play with a high line, a very aggressive team but you have to be clever: it depends on what kind of players you get. And it’s about getting an opportunity and the time from an owner or chairman to stamp your authority on your team.

“If I was given the opportunity, I’d asses what kind of players I have and bring my own players in. But it depends on what group you have, what kind of players you have. Are they an ageing group? Are they a young group who are enthusiastic and want to run around? It takes time to build your own philosophy.” 

Keane was also asked if he feels at a disadvantage in competing for jobs with those with less glittering and thus shorter playing careers, those who threw themselves into coaching at an age at which Keane was still playing. 

“Probably”, replied Keane. “Stevie [Gerrard], Lamps [Lampard] and Wayne [Rooney] have got jobs, I just haven’t had the real opportunity. And listen, nobody deserves a job because they have a name.

“I have been lucky that I have been doing my coaching badges since I was 31 so I have all the badges, the Pro Licence. I have been building up to this. I don’t deserve to walk into a job because of my job and my career: I have to earn that. I’ve done my coaching badges, I’ve done my apprenticeship as an assistant so I am looking to get the right opportunity.

“I have had a few offers but nothing that I really fancied. But I am sure the right one will come around the corner, and I’ll certainly dive into it. I love working with young players. I am very detailed in the way I like to coach, so I am looking forward to it.”