Robbie driven by fear of losing

Robbie Keane says he can associate with the opinion of his namesake Roy that fear of losing represents the ultimate driving force in football.

The Corkman, now working again with the Ireland skipper as Martin O’Neill’s assistant, revealed during Tuesday’s ITV4 documentary entitled ‘Best of Enemies’ that enjoyment came a distant second to fear in his list of motivations.

Speaking yesterday on 98FM’s ‘Now That’s What I Call Sport Show’, the younger Keane agreed with the 42-year-old’s sentiments, although admitted he’s changed slightly with age.

“I missed the documentary but will probably watch it this week because I heard it was very good,” said the 33-year-old LA Galaxy striker, back in Dublin for Christmas and recovering from surgery on both of his Achilles tendons.

“I know what Roy was saying because, for me, it was always about the fear of losing.

“When I was younger, my missus used to dread me coming home after a defeat. I was a nightmare to be around for a few days afterwards.

“As I’ve got older, you don’t learn to lose but have to get yourself together as there’s nearly always another game a few days later. I’ve calmed down a bit as I’ve got older.”

Ireland’s record goalscorer heads into the new year unsure if he’ll retain the captaincy under the new regime. Central to O’Neill’s decision to hold off confirming his skipper until the March friendly against Serbia is due to doubts over Keane’s continued status as first-choice striker in the face of competition from Shane Long, Anthony Stokes and Kevin Doyle.

“That’s something you have to ask the manager; it’s like asking me who’s going to play in the next game,” responded Keane to the question of him holding onto the armband.

“It’s not my call. I’ll just carry on as I have been and if called upon, I’ll try to score as many goals as I can — that’s something I’ll continue to do, as I have for the last 14 years.”