Cometh the hour, cometh Roy Keane.
The Irish legend doesn’t shirk pressure. He loves it.
And the task ahead of Ireland on Saturday isn’t worrying the Republic assistant manager one bit as he insists that, if you don’t like pressure, you’re in the wrong game.
Keane spoke to the media at a sunny Malahide this afternoon after the team trained without Harry Arter who has been sent back to England with a groin injury.
His message was simple. This is where you stand up and be counted for. This is where it matters.
“It’s high up there,” Keane rated how big this game is in his career. “Because it’s the next one. The next game is always the most important one. We know what’s at stake, you know, we’re not daft. We’ve been in the game long enough to know what games are very important in the group. And this is really important.
“We’re ready for it.
“We’ve got an experienced group of players. Robbie Keane, John O’Shea, Shay Given has vast experience, Glenn Whelan, these boys know the score. They’ve been around the block a few times like Martin [O’Neill] and myself [and the rest of the management team]. We’re not daft. We know what’s at stake.”
“But we’re ready. Pressure’s part of the game. These are the games you look forward to.”
After taking on Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland charges and welcoming Roy Hodgson and his men to the Aviva, Ireland have slowly worked their way up through the gears but no-one has ever made any bones about the fact that Scotland is where it counts.
“We had a couple of friendlies last week, the north and England – well and good, they were decent games for us,” Roy Keane explained. “But that was like the foreplay, the action starts on Saturday.
“This is the real stuff on Saturday. There’ll be more of an edge, there’ll be a much better atmosphere, the pressure…
“The next game is always the most important one. That’s what we’re focusing on now. It’s an important game.
“Pressure’s part of the game. It’s not a problem. If it’s a problem for you then you’re in the wrong game.”
After losing 1-0 in Glasgow in November, Ireland are looking to turn the tables on Scotland in the reverse fixture and the former United skipper’s assessment of what his side should do is fairly simple.
“Score. Keep a clean sheet.”
But that game in Celtic Park hasn’t upset the mood in the camp.
“You’re always disappointed when you lose any game of football but the beauty of this game is that there’s always a chance to make up for it,” Keane said. “With the group we’re in, it’s going to be fairly tight and this is a chance for us to put it right. That’s what we’re trying to do on Saturday.”
Ireland sit two points adrift of Scotland but, even as a player, mathematics and permutations didn’t consume Keano. He focused on what he could control. The next game.
“I’m sure I was aware of it, obviously. You can’t get away from it. Hopefully the players see the strength of the group and, what I used to try and do, was just focus on the next game – get the right result,” he explained.
“Tables and your club and that, it takes care of itself. We just have to get the right results and, if we don’t do that, then we obviously won’t go very far.”
The last qualifier saw Ireland host Poland in Dublin and Aviva Stadium was shaking on its hinges as the Republic came from behind and rescued a last-gasp draw. Keane knows that the crowd won’t be an issue again.
“I think the atmosphere in Scotland was really good. I think their fans were fantastic and ours made a good effort but, when you lost the game, they [Scotland fans] were probably a bit more upbeat.
“Again, if you think I’m concerned about the atmosphere coming up for the game on Saturday, I think that will take care of itself. The Irish fans are fantastic, they get right behind the players and hopefully we give them something to shout about.”
