Roy keeps cool despite contract cloud hanging over Ireland’s Serbia trip
ROY KEANE has acknowledged there is an underlying issue between the FAI and the Republic of Ireland management over the delay in signing a new contract. With a World Cup campaign getting under way inBelgrade against Serbia tomorrow, manager Martin O’Neill, Keane and other senior members of the coaching staff, have yet to formally extend their contracts — even though agreements were reached three months ago.
While O’Neill confirmed on Wednesday night that he is ‘still being paid’ by the FAI, it appears the current arrangement is akin to payas-you-go.
It’s inexplicable that an Irish manager, and his staff, should be left dangling 10 months after qualifying for the Euro finals.
There is no indication whether the issue is financial or technical but things are dragging on.
‘Do I know the ins and outs of it? I’ve got an idea but I’m not going to say too much,’ said the Ireland assistant manager.
‘From our point of view, once the manager signs the contract… he’s shook hands, everything’s agreed.
‘It doesn’t keep me awake at night, the contract stuff,’ he stressed.
‘We’ve committed to the job. I don’t think you can say any more than that. I know football’s a funny old game.’
Asked if the Repubic of Ireland players might be affected by the ongoing contract uncertainty, Keane allowed himself a giggle.
‘The players? Do me a favour. They just want to know what’s happening in “Peaky Blinders.” Players don’t worry about managers’ contracts, you’re joking aren’t you?’ he said.
Keane seemed slightly taken aback when Sportsmail put it to him that he was almost three years in the job as Irish no 2.
‘I’m shocked that we’re still here,’ he said, before correcting himself, ‘Well, no, because I was quietly confident that we might get some decent football results.
‘It feels like we’ve been in the group 20 years. I don’t know how Jack (Charlton) did it!’ he quipped in reference to the Geordie legend who managed the team for almost 10 years.
Keane had hinted prior to the Euros that he might leave his position, so why has he stayed on?
‘I was open-minded. I think I said it to you at the time, it all depends if we’re going to be offered a new contract? Does Martin want me to stay on? All that goes into the mix.
‘Am I shocked I’m still here involved with Ireland? No. Because I enjoy my job, I get a lot of job satisfaction out of it.’
For Keane, the ultimate satisfaction as O’Neill’s assistant is the buildMany up to the games and the 90 minutes in the arena.
After the high of the Euros, it’s back to the grind of the qualifiers against Serbia, which means getting the game-face on, for everyone.
‘You can’t turn up on Monday thinking “Well we kinda done ok at the Euros, means we should get a decent result tonight.” We’re back to the hunger, the level of performance. See where it takes us.’
mid-ranking European nations, including Ireland, have struggled in the aftermath of a successful tournament but Keane doesn’t accept there will be a Euro hangover.
‘I wouldn’t mind having that hangover if Ireland ever won it, I’d have a hangover for a couple of years!’ he said with a smile.
‘I have no doubt in my mind, or have any question marks over thinking the players are still having some sort of jolly up from the Euros. Far from it.
‘I think we done ok in the Euros. We didn’t bloody win it. It’s not as if we won it and it’s party time for a few months.’
Group D appears open as the Euro heavyweights, such as Germany, Spain, Italy and France are scattered elsewhere.
‘Listen, we’re glad Germany aren’t in the group, yeah, but the other teams are all pretty good,’ said Keane.
‘If you were a betting man, this is the group you’d do well to guess who’s maybe going to get out of.
‘The manager has mentioned it. Trying to have some sort of guess at how many points you might need to get out of this group, I think it’s impossible, very hard to predict.’
With three of the first four Group D qualifiers being played away from Dublin, Ireland will need a fast start, although Keane is wary of expecting too much from the games in Serbia, Moldova and Austria.
‘You have to try and win your home matches and pick up results away from home, which is never easy, particularly if you’re Ireland.
‘We’ve never been ones for going away from home and getting positive results in terms of beating teams on a regular basis. Far from it.
‘I don’t think it’s ever happened in my time involved with Ireland,’ said Keane.
Now would be as good a time as any, as Ireland have yet to take out a team of Serbia’s calibre on their own patch.
For all the high of defeating Italy in Lille, the last significant scalp away from Dublin in a qualifier was in Armenia six years ago, which teed up Giovanni Trapattoni’s team for a crack at Euro 2012.
In the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, Ireland managed two away wins inside a week when they defeated Iceland (4-2) and Lithuania (1-0) — Keane was outstanding in
If players were still having a jolly from the Euros, we’d nail ‘em
both games. However, before that you have to go all the way back to 1987, when a scrappy Mark Lawrenson goal secured a 1-0 win against Scotland in Hampden Park.
On the road, too often Ireland run into a cul-de-sac, yet Keane is adamant the mind-set is positive.
‘It’s in your DNA to try to win every game of football,’ he insisted.
‘It’s in our DNA and we’ll be doing our utmost to try and win on Monday, and get the campaign off to a good start, because we’re back. I don’t have a feeling that the players have taken their eye off the ball? Far from it. Unless I’m missing something, and I don’t think I am, I haven’t been sitting there going “My God these lads are still on holiday.”
‘If we thought we’d one or two players in our group still having a jolly from the Euros, we’d nail ‘em.’
As for Ireland, it’s high time the team nailed down a major result on the road.