Steven Reid is full of praise for his former Republic of Ireland teammate.
The now retired midfielder, who played 23 times for Ireland between 2001 and 2008, including appearances at the World Cup in 2002, has revealed the welcoming role Robbie Keane performs behind the scenes.
“I was a player at Millwall and Robbie Keane was a millionaire from the Premier League,” Reid wrote In his Irish Independent column today. The former Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and West Brom midfielder says he felt uneasy in his surroundings when he first joined up with the squad, but Keane helped him integrate.
“So as I walked from the dining room to my bedroom and heard Robbie tell some joke about some player from some training session, I stared at the floor. Of course I knew who he was. He was on Match of the Day every Saturday. Who was I? Nobody yet.
Or so I thought. “How’re ye Stevo?” he asked.
Stevo.
Fifteen years on, I think about that greeting and the easy way he introduced himself. Three players; Ian Harte, Damien Duff and Richard Dunne, were sitting with him. Yet he moved across and gestured for me to join him. That’s his way.
Reid goes on to write how Keane has also helped others integrate with the squad, recognising that newly capped players, often young, shy players, needed to be welcomed into the group.
This, along with his incredible goal record, and commitment to the team, has earned the Ireland captain respect from all of his teammates, according to Reid.
“As a man, you’ve no idea how high my opinion is of him. And you have no idea how highly he is thought of in that Ireland dressing room.
Why? Because they’ve all been that shy teenager. They’ve all made that lonely, self-conscious walk through a hotel lobby – and while I can’t say for certain – I have little doubt they have all heard Robbie’s Dublin accent shout ‘how’re ye?’ at them across the lobby.
Soon, that lobby will be quieter because – as Martin O’Neill hinted earlier this week – he will have to make a tough decision and bring an end to some careers. So there will be no more shouts of ‘how are ye?’ to young, awkward, shy footballers and there will be no more goals.”
