‘I don’t think it is fair on James, he just wants to play’
ACHILL northerly swept across Dublin Airport on Wednesday morning but inside Shamrock House, Robbie Keane was dressed for far warmer climes. Keane was promoting Aer Lingus routes to North America which seemed slightly ironic as he’s more likely to head East, rather than West, for ‘one last adventure’ this summer after ending a five-year stint at LA Galaxy last November.
About to turn 38 in July, Keane is fully entitled to retirement but the street kid desire to play ball has never left him. It’s almost 20 years since he made his English League debut for Wolves and he intends to mark the anniversary by crossing the white line in competition.
He has spent the past couple of months ‘ticking over’ at Shamrock Rovers but he has become restless for a new gig further away from his native Dublin. It will be ‘abroad’, he said with certainty.
It is clear Keane misses playing, and equally clear, he has no intention of being pensioned off just yet, especially when talk turns to how his close friend Damien Duff felt it difficult to adjust to retirement.
‘That was Duffer’s time. He was ready to go. I am not. That conversation between us has never came up because he knows I have a good couple of years left in me,’ said Keane.
‘I am training, feeling sharp and when the right opportunity comes up, I will be ready to go. I am in a different frame of mind. I am back and forth to LA and back to England. I am doing stuff and also waiting for the right opportunity for me to go to. I am not retiring,’ he insisted.
Last month, Keane did something unusual; he watched an Ireland game in the Aviva Stadium stands as a retired international. He couldn’t sit still.
‘That was the first game I was at since I retired. It was enjoyable to watch but a little surreal, because after 19 years putting that green jersey on, it was weird sitting there, knowing I wouldn’t play,’ he said.
‘Listen, you are kicking every ball, elbowing people, jumping up and it was definitely tough to watch, of course. Seeing Gareth Bale’s shot, being that much (gestures with hands) away from the post, my heart was in me mouth to be honest with you,’ he smiled.
Keane got his first call to senior arms, by Mick McCarthy, in March 1998. From that moment, until his farewell against Oman last August, he was the first player in for duty.
His passion to pull the green jersey over his head, which he did a record 146 times, was always evident, as was his annoyance at anyone who showed a lack of enthusiasm to report for games, whether it was a huge World Cup qualifier, or a lowkey friendly.
When Keane fired a broadside in May 2011 at players pulling out of end of season games, he appeared to question the allegiance of James McCarthy, among others.
Asked on Wednesday did he ever have a clear the air chat with McCarthy around that time, he explained: ‘I think that message was pretty clear and I think you could see that we did not have any problems after that.’
Keane acknowledged that McCarthy, a shy character anyway, was perhaps under pressure at Wigan at the time. In contrast, no club manager could ever keep Keane away from any international.
‘I was maybe different because I was always desperate to come and play for Ireland and I would never let anyone tell me that I couldn’t. If it means I would have to walk there to play, I would do it,’ he continued
‘There are definitely managers who will try and influence players not to play if you have a niggle. They will seek to keep you for their club match on a Saturday.’
Keane has since seen McCarthy evolve from a young cub into an adult of the Irish pack and he backed the Everton midfielder’s decision to try and play against Wales when his club were not keen. ‘All James wants to do is play football. At the end of the day, you get sent away from your club if you are fit. If you are not, they don’t send you. It is as simple as that,’ Keane said. ‘If you are 18 or 19, you don’t really have a say. But when you are an established first team player, and you are playing regularly for Everton, and also for Ireland, you are the one who makes the decisions. And then, if you get an injury, that is part of football. That is how the game goes. I don’t think it is fair on the lad because all he wants to do is play for his country. He was definitely stuck in the middle of it.
‘He was training all week, and there wasn’t a problem but unfortunately he got injured in the warm-up which happens to people.’
Keane also believes Chris Hughton has all the credentials to be the next Ireland boss after Martin O’Neill.
‘What Chris has done over the last few years, the job he did with Newcastle, what he’s done with Brighton, is exceptional,’ Keane said of Brian Kerr’s former Ireland assistant.
‘Chris and I have always stayed in contact with each other. I texted him straight away after they won promotion. Martin is doing a tremendous job. If Martin ever decides to step down, if you look at the candidates out there certainly Chris would be up there as one of the top ones.’.
Keane has expressed an interest in getting involved with the Republic of Ireland himself. For now, though, he feels his boots have more goals in them before he hangs them up.