Keane says Plan A the only game in town

As you would expect from a man who is as passionate about playing for his country as Robbie Keane, there were plenty of stirring words from the skipper on the eve of Ireland’s appearance in the last chance saloon in Vienna tonight.

The rallying cry was from the heart, no doubt, but it was more what came from Keane’s head that really hit home yesterday, not least his sharply worded argument that the team’s limitations have more to do with the culture of Irish football than whoever happens to be managing at any given time.

“We talk about Plan A and Plan B and crap like that, but Ireland has never had a Plan B before,” he snapped. “We have always had Plan A, it’s as simple as that. Since I have been in the squad, we have played the exact same way. We don’t have the personnel to, like Spain, get the ball down and have 80 per cent possession against teams. We are just not that team.