Keane sets his sights on topping group
Asked yesterday how he was finding life with LA Galaxy, the Irish captain, pausing only to remove his mirrored shades, replied: “Awesome, dude. Like, I’m todilly blown away, man.”
Well, actually no, he didn’t. Instead, Robbie gave the questioner his best Tallaght street stare and deadpanned: “It’s not really too good living in LA. (Pause). What do you think?”
If Keane seemed initially a little prickly on his first meeting back on home turf with the Irish media since leaving Spurs for the MLS, it may be because he is aware that the surprise move has not been without its critics in his homeland. But for the man himself, it all makes perfect sense.
“I didn’t think the opportunity would come at this stage, it did though, and I was quite happy with everything,” he said. “Privately, in the last year I’ve always thought about it. I’ve been to America on plenty of occasions and really enjoyed it. So when the opportunity came, it was just at the right time for me.”
David Beckham’s training spell at Spurs also helped sharpen Keane’s thinking on the idea.
“I spoke to Becks, just normal chit-chat, not trying to get a move or anything,” he said. “He has really enjoyed it, that’s why he’s been there for five years. I spoke to other people as well and they all had good things to say about it.”
Keane scored on his MLS debut against San Jose Earthquakes but then, having also featured in the CONCACAF Champions League defeat of Costa Rican champions LD Alajelense, saw a third appearance ruled out by Hurricane Irene which forced the cancellation of last weekend’s game against New York Bulls. Consequently, he said yesterday that it was far too early for him to make any judgements about the prevailing standard of the MLS. Simply getting regular game time, he went on, was the most important thing for him after so long in limbo at White Hart Lane.
“For the last 18 months I haven’t been playing on a regular basis for my club but I was still producing for my country,” he said. “If I’m still playing and getting 90 minutes once or twice a week, it can be only beneficial for me.”
Keane said that Galaxy know how “committed” he is to playing for Ireland and are “100% behind that”. Indeed, he presents the whole transatlantic move as nothing radically different to any of his many transfers in the past.
“I’ve changed clubs and I’m happy to keep doing what I’ve been doing for my country,” he said. “That’s not going to change just because I’m 10 hours further away on a flight. It certainly won’t change my desire to play for my country. I have the same desire now that I had at 17, the same commitment. It’s no different. I’ll just continue doing what I’ve been doing for the last ten years for Ireland. Doing what I do best. Scoring goals.”
And that will be the aim against Slovakia tonight as Ireland go in search of three crucial points, although this time Keane will be partnered up front by Shane Long rather than Kevin Doyle.
“Look at Shane’s performances for Ireland, they’ve been very good and he’s taken those performances into his new club,” Keane observed. “It’s important we have competition. It keeps everyone on their toes. Kevin has been brilliant for us for the last few years. And don’t forget, these are a couple of massive games coming up and anything can happen. Personnel could change at any given moment. Everyone needs to be on their toes.”
And the skipper insists that Ireland are aiming for the top.
“The performances in the last year or so have given us confidence and that’s flowing through the camp now,” he said. “Winning games gives you that confidence. In the last year, it’s certainly helped us to believe that we can win big games against big countries. Our main aim now is to win this group. We don’t want to be in those play-offs again, we’ve been in them too many times.”
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