ROBBIE KEANE WILL remain an “absolutely massive” player for Ireland, assistant manager Roy Keane said on Sunday.
Ireland’s leading goalscorer was dropped for Friday’s defeat against Scotland — the first time in over 13 years that he has been available for a competitive game and not started.
Instead he had to make do with a substitute cameo for the final 12 minutes but couldn’t prevent Ireland from losing 1-0 in Celtic Park.
Afterwards the striker said he respected manager Martin O’Neill’s decision to play Shane Long as the lone striker, but his frustration was evident.
“If the manager wants to play one up front, I’m not fucking Niall Quinn and I’m not Shane Long,” he said. “They’re better at that than I am.
“If you play two up front and want to score goals, then that’s my game.”
Keane was released from the squad last night to rejoin LA Galaxy’s MLS playoff run, and won’t feature in the friendly against the USA.
“He’s a lot better than Niall Quinn,” Roy Keane said when asked about the striker’s frustration, and he praised the manner in which he reacted to O’Neill’s decision.
“Robbie Keane is massive for this team. Absolutely massive.
“Everyone keeps saying that he was disappointed – of course he was. Tell me any player who is going to be left out of the big game and he’s not going to be disappointed. That’s exactly what you expect from Robbie.
“You saw the reaction. Robbie’s brilliant for the group and brilliant for the team.
“He’s a top, top player, he’s been doing it for years and hopefully he’ll score goals for the next number of years. You just pick a team for a certain game.
“The way Robbie reacted to the disappointment in our training session yesterday, it’s fantastic, absolutely different class.
“Robbie Keane is as good a professional as I’ve come across and he’ll be disappointed, of course.”
Roy maintains Robbie is still a big player for Ireland
Ireland’s leading goalscorer was dropped for Friday’s defeat against Scotland — the first time in over 13 years that he has been available for a competitive game and not started.
Instead he had to make do with a substitute cameo for the final 12 minutes but couldn’t prevent Ireland from losing 1-0 in Celtic Park.
Afterwards the striker said he respected manager Martin O’Neill’s decision to play Shane Long as the lone striker, but his frustration was evident.
“If the manager wants to play one up front, I’m not fucking Niall Quinn and I’m not Shane Long,” he said. “They’re better at that than I am.
“If you play two up front and want to score goals, then that’s my game.”
Keane was released from the squad last night to rejoin LA Galaxy’s MLS playoff run, and won’t feature in the friendly against the USA.
“He’s a lot better than Niall Quinn,” Roy Keane said when asked about the striker’s frustration, and he praised the manner in which he reacted to O’Neill’s decision.
“Robbie Keane is massive for this team. Absolutely massive.
“Everyone keeps saying that he was disappointed – of course he was. Tell me any player who is going to be left out of the big game and he’s not going to be disappointed. That’s exactly what you expect from Robbie.
“You saw the reaction. Robbie’s brilliant for the group and brilliant for the team.
“He’s a top, top player, he’s been doing it for years and hopefully he’ll score goals for the next number of years. You just pick a team for a certain game.
“The way Robbie reacted to the disappointment in our training session yesterday, it’s fantastic, absolutely different class.
“Robbie Keane is as good a professional as I’ve come across and he’ll be disappointed, of course.”
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