Never mind the scandal, Keane says Ireland are focused only on England

ASKED yesterday if the Republic of Ireland players might ease up a little against England tomorrow, especially as Scotland appear on the Euro horizon, Roy Keane joked how difficult he was to restrain. Yet, curiously perhaps, Ireland’s assistant manager kept his emotions, and opinions, in check when asked about the controversy engulfing his employers. Keane parried media thrusts about John Delaney’s €5million of hush money for the FAI from FIFA in return for dropping a legal case regarding Thierry Henry’s handball. Keane has history with Delaney, having stated in the aftermath of the Irish pain of Paris in November 2009, that no one should ‘take any notice of that man’. Perhaps that explained his reluctance to engage on Delaney’s decision to sell the soul of Irish football to FIFA for a few dollars more. Asked in Gannon Park if Delaney was a distraction, Keane quipped, ‘Isn’t he always?’ As journalists dared to press, Keane showed a stud or two. ‘Do you know what? Not today,’ he said, politely. ‘I’m not in the mood to talk about all that stuff. If you want to ask me about the games coming up and the players we have, no problem but I’m not getting into the FIFA stuff. ‘I’m here to focus on the games coming up. I’m not going there.’ The line of question was switched to under-fire Jack Warner, the disgraced former FIFA vice-president, whom Keane once labelled ‘a clown’. ‘I had issues with everybody,’ he said disarmingly. ‘Again, if you want to talk about the game I’m here, if you want to talk about other stuff, you’re talking to the wrong man.’ When it was put to Keane there was only one story in town and could he understand why he was being asked about it, he smiled coyly and said, ‘Of course I can and I was expecting it. But we’ve got a game on Sunday and that’s got to be my focus. Listen, there might be a time next week or the week after but I’m not thinking about anything else. I’m thinking about the game on Sunday. That is my job. That’s the beauty of international football, you can just get totally focused on the game.’

PHILIP QUINN