Robbie Keane set for French connection after Martin O'Neill's vote of confidence

With the extent of the challenge facing Ireland in the summer made abundantly clear by Saturday’s Euro finals draw in Paris, Martin O’Neill has given his strongest indication yet that Robbie Keane will have a place in his 23-man tournament squad.

Keane is no longer an automatic starter for his country, something the 35-year-old has learned to accept, but the manager is still full of praise for what the player brings to the cause. And when asked if Keane still has a role to play going into the finals, O’Neill’s response is emphatic:

“Absolutely. He’s our best goalscorer, at the end of the day. Shane Long has done great and some of these players, like Shane Long, can still learn from Robbie Keane. You talk about the little training sessions that we have: seriously, you can see why Robbie Keane has been a terrific player.”

One thing’s for sure, if Keane does make the cut, it won’t be on the back of a sympathy vote from Martin O’Neill.

“Would I bring Robbie Keane for sentiment sake? That would be just about as black a mark against Robbie Keane as you’re likely to give him. Robbie Keane has been terrific in this group of players here. And I’ll tell you why he has, not just because he’s had a really, really brilliant career, but when he’s been left out of the side his encouragement to the other players, not only in the dressing-room but around about the hotel, has been absolutely terrific.”

O’Neill also makes the point that the particular properties of tournament football might also be such as to bring the best out of the veteran.

“A 27-year-old Robbie Keane — would he be in our team every single week? Absolutely. Now I have to look at that, to see what he can do, and maybe, if it was at all possible — if these tournaments are slow-slow, quick-quick-slow type of football rather than in qualification, especially at home, when you’re having to try and press teams — that might suit Robbie, he might be able to take a breather or two during the games.

“I don’t know about that. I might be wrong, I will have to have a look at it as time goes on. But if I’m going to pick some players for sentiment sake I shouldn’t really be managing.” As it happens, Keane got on the scoresheet the last time Ireland faced Sweden, the team they will meet in their opening Group E game at the Stade de France on June 13. However, Keane’s 60th goal for his country in that September 2013 World Cup qualifier at the Aviva Stadium was not enough to prevent the Swedes winning 2-1 in what proved to be Giovanni Trapattoni’s penultimate game as Ireland manager. Although Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t score that night, his was a typically huge influence in the visitors’ victory but, with next summer’s rendezvous in mind, O’Neill insists that Ireland’s approach in Paris can’t be dictated by one opposition player.

“No, if you think about the teams we played in the group stage, (Robert) Lewandowski was a major player there for Poland. Great players can manoeuvre themselves to get into positions and Lewandowksi ended up scoring the headed goal against us which became very, very important. I saw bits of Sweden’s play-off games with Denmark and Ibrahimovic is obviously a big player for them, he’s their talisman, but I don’t think that Sweden will always go direct, I do think they try to build it up a little bit.”

With Belgium and Italy to follow, the importance of Ireland’s opening group game can hardly be overstated, with O’Neill acknowledging that it’s one of those where must-not-lose possibly trumps must-win.

“If you were to ask managers, I think that when the first game is done and dusted they would rather be still in it than completely out of it, so I take that point,” he says. “But the games we have are tough so starting to plan getting points here and there is, I think, a total waste of time.

“Let’s just go for it, genuinely take the games as they appear, Sweden first and throw everything into it. For us, the first game is very, very important. The group is tough but I think that when I get over this initial moroseness, I will be absolutely fine (laughs).”

Certainly, it was gallows humour to the fore for the Derryman in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s draw.

“Honestly, I must have stopped going to mass,” he quipped, quickly adding, “I haven’t.

“But Roy was sitting beside me and when we were down to fifty-fifty, you were still looking at sides that, well, you might have chosen.” Austria over Italy, for example?

“Yes, but it doesn’t work, it’s not working and it should not have, given the luck we have had, so I was not expecting it.”

And Mr Keane’s reaction when the Italians duly came out of Pot 2. ”We both thought we’d enjoy the draw more than we enjoyed it in Nice and we didn’t, so it was exactly the same language he used as he did in Nice.” Which you can’t repeat? “Exactly” he laughed.