ROY KEANE PULLED no punches in a dressing room debrief with Ireland’s women last night.

Keane was an interested spectator in Tallaght Stadium as Sue Ronan’s side lost 3-1 against Russia, denting their chances of World Cup qualification.

He spoke to the Girls in Green afterwards to share his thoughts on a disappointing night.

“He actually made us feel a little bit worse,” Ireland’s record caps holder and captain Emma Byrne revealed.

He came in and he was trying to be positive, but then he said you just can’t give away the goals you conceded and it’s just not good enough basically.

“He’s very honest and we knew he was. He’s cutting. I suppose we needed to hear it.

Ireland went 2-0 down inside the opening 12 minutes and although Fiona O’Sullivan cut the deficit, a third Russian goal before the break gave the visitors control of the race for the play-offs.

Keane’s words came as no surprise, goalkeeper Byrne added, and echoed how the squad felt themselves.

“We’re very harsh on ourselves anyway. I certainly don’t hold back and neither does Sue.

I think the team has been brought up hard so they’d be well used to it. They always know that they need to look at themselves before they look at anyone else so Roy was just echoing everything that everyone was thinking anyway.

“We didn’t even know he was there,” she joked. “If we’d known before the game, we probably would have played better.”

– Reporting by Stephen Doyle, 98FM.

Ireland’s women suffer setback in World Cup qualification bid with defeat to Russia