RON A WINNER
Roy backs old mate to stop Klopp in Kiev
ROY KEANE has backed Ronaldo to lead Real Madrid to Champions League glory against Liverpool in Kiev tomorrow.
The Republic of Ireland assistant manager has never hidden his admiration for the work ethic and big-match temperament of his former Manchester United colleague and believes he can be the difference in Kiev.
‘I think Real will win it,’ said Keane. Why? ‘Ronaldo. There are some good support acts too mind. I think Liverpool are playing some good stuff and I wouldn’t begrudge them [a win] but in my opinion I would probably just edge to Real because of Ronaldo.’
Asked had he a message for his former boss Alex Ferguson, who is recovering from a brain haemorrhage, Keane replied: ‘What do you think it would be? Get well soon, of course.’
Promising teenage defender Declan Rice has made the cut and is going nowhere despite West Ham owner David Gold’s wish that he might play for England.
THE World Cup finals are almost upon us, while the beaches and bars beckon for the Republic of Ireland footballers and their families.
All they need is to get through two friendly internationals against France and the USA before they sip the first of the summer wine.
It should be wind-down time, but Roy Keane is having none of it.
The manner of the 1-0 defeat in Turkey two months ago stung the Ireland assistant manager and he is demanding a response in the Stade de France on Monday.
Not only that, he has identified those who must lead by example – the senior Irish players.
Without mentioning names, Keane yesterday called on those with experience to guide the younger players through the challenges of Paris, and beyond.
‘Lads who are new, you’ve got to give them a bit of a break,’ said Keane after training in Abbotstown. ‘It took me 20 to 25 games to find my feet at international football.
‘The lads who’ve been around for a while, you want more from them because they are setting the tone — in training and in how they play in the games.
‘After the Turkey game, while you’re disappointed at the loss, I was more disappointed with the senior players rather than the new lads who were finding their feet.
‘You need a helping hand along the way,’ he stressed.
It would help Martin O’Neill and Keane if there were more players attached to Premier League clubs, but the revised 26-strong squad has just eight players from England’s elite division.
Of those, Jon Walters played less than 100 minutes with Burnley last season, while James McClean was relegated with West Brom.
Asked if the Ireland management was faced with a major rebuilding project after the 5-1 World Cup play-off loss to Denmark, Keane raised his eyebrows. ‘Rebuilding? I think that’s a difficult word to use because there are only a certain number of players we can use,’ he pointed out.
‘You’re always hoping and praying more players will be involved at [Premier League] clubs. That’s not a criticism of players playing in the Championship.
‘But to give us a better chance to help Ireland, we need more players in the [Premier League]. We have a lot of lads in the Championship and it does make it harder when we get together for big games. It makes it tougher.’
Few games are ‘harder’ than playing France in Paris, especially in a send-off from the capital before the World Cup and Didier Deschamps will demand a performance that befits one of the tournament favourites.
Ireland are not down to the bare bones but the absence of Sean Maguire because of a hamstring injury has disrupted Ireland’s plans. ‘Sean’s a big loss,’ admitted Keane.
With Scott Hogan on Aston Villa duty in the Championship play-off final tomorrow, it leaves Walters, Shane Long and the unproven Graham Burke of Shamrock Rovers as the only
attacking options – although Hogan could yet be summoned to Paris.
As for Keane, he didn’t seem overly concerned at the lack of forwards.
‘How many strikers do you need for France? We have Jon (Walters), we have Shane Long and James McClean has played up the middle.
‘We are not going to be playing with five up front.’
Rather, it is the Irish defenders and midfielders who are likely to be more involved in terms of repelling French boarders.
Of those, Declan Rice can expect examination of his credentials after impressing on his debut in Turkey.
Again Keane was reluctant to push the West Ham forward as the answer to Ireland’s problems, be it as a central defender or holding midfielder.
‘He’s doing well. How many games has he played club level? Let him learn his trade. Hopefully he will be a big player for Ireland for the next 10 to 15 years and not for the next 10 days.’
‘I have probably not seen enough of him to say that he can or cannot play in a specific position.’
Colin Doyle can expect his busiest night in the Irish goal while back-up ‘keeper Shane Supple will be on the bench and coming to grips with a chance he never expected after giving up football for six years before signing for Bohemians.
‘It’s brilliant that football can throw up stuff like that,’ acknowledged Keane, who tried to dissuade Supple from returning home when he was Ipswich manager.
‘He’d obviously made a decision when I was with him at Ipswich. He wanted to come back and live in Ireland, do something different in his career.
‘You’ve got admire him. Sometimes you make decisions and he seems to have no regrets. When he told me at Ipswich he was pretty determined that that’s what he wanted to do.
‘It’s nice when you can make a decision and stick to it.’