O’Shea: Robbie is an absolute legend

John O’Shea was singing the praises of Robbie Keane after the Republic of Ireland striker scored a hat-trick in their 7-0 Euro 2016 qualifier win against Gibraltar yesterday.

The Ireland captain struck three times inside 12 first half to mark his 136th international cap by surpassing Brazil’s Ronaldo in the international scoring records.

Keane has now scored 65 senior international goals, only three fewer than West Germany star Gerd Muller, whose haul of 68 came in just 62 appearances for his country.

O’Shea said: “People will obviously crib, because they are desperate to knock Robbie as soon as they can, but believe me, he’s an absolute legend purely because of his goalscoring and his finishing.

“He still had to put those chances away, he was clinical and in the right place at the right time. He’s a special player and still will be for us in a few years to come, he’s an absolute genius.

Looking ahead to Ireland’s next game, a much stiffer test against World champions Germany, O’Shea believes his skipper will be crucial if Ireland are to get anything from the game.

The Republic of Ireland defender said: “We still have to keep him fit and we’ll wait and see what happens on Tuesday, but he’ll be a very important player for us again.

“I’m just delighted he’s in our time when he gets chances. Hopefully we’ll be creating a few on Tuesday night and nine times out of ten they’ll be in the back of the net.

“We won’t get as many chances as we did tonight against Germany so when we do create them we’re going to have to put them away.”

O’Shea played down the notion that the 7-0 win will give Ireland a big boost in confidence, saying: “We wanted six points by the time we get onto the plane to Germany. You know you’re going to win a game like that beforehand, and thankfully we did, but [it's a] different test on Tuesday night and one we’re looking forward to.”

“It’s weird in a sense playing against a team new to the competition and then you’re heading for a team that’s just won the World Cup, so we’re under no illusions, it’ll be a very different test on Tuesday night, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”

Asked if he had read Roy Keane’s autobiography, The Second Half, in which the Sunderland defender came in for some criticism from the Ireland assistant manager, O’Shea said: “We all got a copy the other night, so I’ve nearly finished it. It’s an easy read.”

— Peter Towe