Transfer talk Spurs Keane
This is amid rumours linking him to a host of clubs, including Celtic, where Keane made a winning appearance in every sense at the Jackie McNamara testimonial last Saturday.
With a brace of World Cup qualifiers coming up, Keane is asked if the transfer speculation is a distraction.
"I seem to have had it the last seven years, every summer," laughs the well-travelled striker.
"It doesn't bother me. As far as I'm concerned it's just speculation. I've still got another year at Tottenham. I'm quite happy there regardless of what people write about me and the manager (Martin Jol). Just to clear it up now: me and the manager are grand, we get on very well. I'm happy there.
"But if the manager and chairman pull me into the office and tell me different, then I'd have to sit down and look at my future. But at the moment I'm a Spurs player and I'm happy.
"There's a contract on the table there since the start of the season," he reveals.
"I always said I'd wait because (Jacques) Santini left and Martin Jol took over and I wanted to see how it panned out. It's there but I said I'd leave it until the summer. It's not something I'm thinking about at this moment, to be honest. I'm just thinking about these two games coming up and that's where my focus is right now"
On which subject, Keane appreciates the importance of turning the one point from Tel Aviv into three at Lansdowne Road.
"The game didn't go as we'd like it to in Israel even though I thought we played well and kept the ball well.
"As a striker, you want to get as many chances as you can and on that particular day we didn't create enough for ourselves. We were also unlucky they scored in the last minute. It's up to us to change that on Saturday and hopefully get a good result."
Ireland have twice taken early leads on foreign soil in this qualifying campaign against Switzerland and Israel only to be pulled back later on.
Which begs the question: is there such a thing as scoring too early?
"Lately, it seems to be happening a lot in football look at Liverpool coming back against AC Milan," says Keane.
"But no. At the end of the day you still want to score, regardless of whether it's in the first minute or the last minute. In the games that were mentioned there we were obviously a bit gutted that we conceded goals after going ahead, but if you asked me now would I want a goal in the first minute against Israel, I'd certainly take it."
And there are certainly goals in this Irish team. Robbie Keane may be the international record-holder with 24, but Birmingham City's Clinton Morrison who looks odds-on to leave the Blues this summer is sharing the load in this campaign, matching Keane's three (which include two from the spot) with three of his own.
"Since we've been playing together the partnership has certainly grown, over this campaign especially," says Robbie of Clinton.
"He's a strong lad who likes to play right up against the centre-half and that allows me to come in that little hole and get on the ball. He's very good in the air as well, and so I can play off his flick-ons."
There have also been encouraging signs at Spurs, and for Ireland, that midfield pass-master Andy Reid and Keane are increasingly on the same wavelength.
"He's a tremendous player and since he's come to Tottenham he's done ever so well," says Keane.
"When I play alongside him I feel we've linked up well together. So if both of us play against Israel hopefully the link-up will help get us goals."
Something the visitors will have a lot to say about, of course.
"They've done well in the group so it's going to be a tough game," says Keane.
"As Brian says, the table doesn't lie. They played a lot of the big teams at home but they know they've a tough game against us.
I'm looking forward to it. Take nothing away from Israel but this is a game we must win."
An Israeli journalist wonders if the Irish will "tear into" the visitors and "play aggressively".
"We'll play our normal game, the way we've always played in this campaign," Keane replies.
"We're not going to do anything stupid. It's about being patient. We're not going into the game trying to win it in the first 20 minutes. It's about 90 minutes."
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