ROY Keane reckons Martin O’Neill can become a Republic of Ireland success story.
Speaking at a charity event in aid of Barrettstown at the Olympia Theatre on Thursday Keane hailed O’Neill’s influence.
“I still think we are in there fighting,” Keane commented. “Martin O’Neill is a bloody good man. I’ve been involved in the game 20-odd years and it is full of bluffers, who will tell you lies and talk crap after games.
“Martin is a good guy, a top, top manager and I love working with him. Before anyone says ‘you’ve got to win matches’, we’re not daft. We live in the real world, we’re winners and Martin has had success before. And he will bring success to Ireland but he has got to be given a chance.
“Nobody has any patience and I can be as bad as anybody. With the Irish media at the moment, I can’t put my finger on it but there is that negativity with the group of players.
“I think we’ve lost one in the last eight or nine games. We’re nearly a decent team and we just need a bit of luck, one or two young players to come in, and Robbie (Keane) firing on all cylinders.
“It was the same when I was a player, when you turn up to play for Ireland you need you top players at it or we’re going to struggle. Will we qualify? Please God, we’ll do our best. That’s all we can do.”
Keane also outlined his hope to return to club management in the future. “I’m really enjoying my time with Ireland at the moment, but things might change in the next few months, depending on results. But I see myself getting back into club management in the next few years.
“I’ve been given a bad reputation because of Ipswich, but I still think that wasn’t as bad as people make out. But I’m bound to say that I suppose.”
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