Irish not all Keane on No.2
ROY KEANE reckons some of the Ireland players do not like him – but he won’t lose any sleep over it.
As assistant boss, he does not have to be in their faces morning, noon and night.
And Keane can blend into the background when manager Martin O’Neill needs to take centre stage.
But he insists he loves his role with the national team as he closes in on four years in the job this November.
Keane said: “The key is trying to know different personalities – and sometimes keeping away from them.
“I’m pretty sure a lot of the players probably don’t particularly like me so I would keep my distance.
“When we work, we work and when we’re off, we stay away from each other. If the players want to improve we’re there to help them.
“The bottom line is it comes from the players.
“Sometimes you try to help players out – whether it be having a go at them or a pat on the back. Sometimes you leave them alone.
Balance
“You’ve got to get that balance right. The manager here is brilliant at it, he’s experienced.”
Meanwhile, Keane wants to see Harry Arter establish himself as an Irish regular after a stop-start career.
Tipped to start against Austria today, the Bournemouth midfielder only has five caps after his debut two years ago.
Keane said: “If he starts he’ll be keen to do well. We saw him against Uruguay last week, we know his qualities and see him every week in the Premier League.
“He can deal with the ball and if you can deal with the ball at international level you’ve a good chance of being a player. He’ll give us something a bit different.”
With Austria missing several key players, Ireland are expected to win today.
But Keane added: “It’ll be a very tough game and we