Roy Keane: Keeping possession ‘a big problem’ for Irish football

While understandably pleased with the effort which went into securing a valuable away point on the opening night of World Cup qualifying, Roy Keane has said he can also understand some of the criticism of Ireland’s performance in the 2-2 draw with Serbia in Belgrade.

But he argued that poor retention of the football is an Irish problem which predates the current era by at least three decades.

His comments came as he addressed the topical issue of what constitutes Irish football’s DNA, the debate ranging from former international Richard Dunne’s observation that the Belgrade result typified “the Irish way” and that to try and play a more expansive game might mean sacrificing qualification for a tournament or two, to Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny passionately disassociating himself from what he has termed “the narrative that the direct style suits our psyche, our level of skill, or, rather, our supposed lack of it”.