‘This could be something special for us’
AFTER leaving Poland 19 months ago feeling ‘miserable’, Robbie Keane leads the return party to Poznan tomorrow with a smile on his face. ‘It’s all change going back there now,’ said the Irish captain after a goal-scoring contribution to the 3-0 win over Latvia. Keane’s 62nd international goal meant he bookmarked the end of the Giovanni Trapattoni reign and the start of Martin O’Neill’s rule by hitting the back of the net. While he enjoyed scoring — he always does — Keane predicted a ‘new era’ for Irish football under the O’Neill-Roy Keane alliance. ‘We can look forward to a new era for the team; we’ve a great manager in Martin and a great assistant in Roy,’ he said. Keane, 33, felt the tactics of pressing high up the park worked to a tee and revived echoes of Jack Charlton’s time. ‘What was the song? Put “Em Under Pressure?” Well, we did that tonight, in a positive way. ‘By pressing, you try and get the ball in their half and it saves you a lot of running. The higher we were up, the better we were passing the ball. It was better than in the past,’ he said. ‘We’re looking good but we won’t get carried away. We beat a team we were expected to beat.’ Keane linked up superbly with Wes Hoolahan, who predicted the 131-cap veteran could play until he’s 40. ‘I hope so,’ quipped Hoolahan, who revelled in his pick-pocket role behind Keane. ‘The formation suits me, playing in hole and in the pockets — getting on the ball. The crowd got behind us because the tempo was a lot different and it’s something to build on,’ said the Norwich City schemer. ‘Robbie has an incredible goalscoring record, the way he gets into the box and scores — he can play until he’s 40. ‘There was brilliant camaraderie in training all week, the lads enjoyed it. It was nice to see the plan work — if you press them up high, they make mistakes and it’s important then to take your chances. ‘They gave the ball away for the second goal and Aiden took it well. ‘It’s great to have Roy the legend here. I supported Man United and he is one of the best players Ireland has produced. To see him when I was coming off the pitch was great.’