We may never see Robbie’s striking qualities again

LOOKING back at the clips of Robbie Keane’s goals after he announced his retirement this week was a reminder of the quality he possessed.

That absolute classic finish for Spurs in the 4-4 draw against Chelsea, or the volley over the shoulder at the Emirates for Liverpool, or the brilliant equaliser against Germany to virtually take us into the last 16 at the World Cup finals in 2002 were examples of his class.

The one that stands out for me was his volley against Iran in the playoff to reach those finals.

We were under pressure in the first leg at Lansdowne Road and hadn’t played particularly well when he produced a sublime finish to give us a crucial goal.

And it was a typical Keane finish which was the hallmark of his amazing international career — his brilliant positioning allowed him to make room and show perfect technique in volleying home.

It was another big moment from Keane, when we needed him, and it is difficult to see his Ireland goalscoring record ever being broken. He is 47 goals ahead of Niall Quinn in second.

So many of his strikes came against the big nations, not the lesser teams. He scored so many when we were up against it and creating few chances.

It was interesting to hear Mick McCarthy say this week that Robbie would still score goals in this Ireland team because of his ability, but I stand by my recent assessment that he would struggle because we do not create enough.

Hopefully he can do his bit to change that situation in his new coaching role while also developing his new career direction in the game.