Roy Keane insisted yesterday that nobody should be surprised that Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane has established himself as one of world football’s most prolific international goalscorers.
The 43-year-old former Manchester United captain was a fixture in the Ireland team when the then 17-year-old striker made his senior debut in March 1998 and set out on the road to establishing himself as the nation’s leading hitman.
On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Galaxy striker marked his 136th appearance with the 63rd, 64th and 65th goals of his senior international career in a 12-minute hat-trick which laid the foundation for a 7-0 Euro 2016 qualifying demolition of Gibraltar.
The opposition may have been weak — and certainly significantly weaker than the wounded Germany team Ireland will face in Gelsenkirchen tomorrow evening — but assistant manager Roy Keane was delighted to witness the frontman’s enduring potency.
Asked if he could have expected those feats when he first came across the teenage Dubliner, he said: “Yes, yes, of course. Robbie is a goalscorer, the stats will tell you that. There’s no surprises with Robbie.
“To be fair to him, he keeps doing it, he keeps doing the business and trains well, he’s a good professional. I’m not surprised by that at all.”