Former Republic of Ireland team-mates Roy and Robbie Keane come face to face again at White Hart Lane this weekend when Roy's Sunderland side take on Spurs, in whose revival Robbie's goals are proving to be vital.The two Keanes - Roy from Cork and Robbie from Dublin - played together for several years in the same Republic of Ireland team.
And Robbie, who is one goal shy of his century of goals for Spurs, and will be looking to reach that milestone against Sunderland, has acknowledged the influence the former Manchester United midfielder has had on his own football career.
“Roy was a great player and you just respect someone who was such a high-profile player,” Keane told The Star.
“I was 17, just getting into the Irish set-up and there was Roy Keane to look up to and respect.
“He’s done a great job with Sunderland. Hopefully it won’t be so good for him Saturday."
But Robbie added: “I’m not going to make a special effort to have a few words with Roy. I’ll just play the game and concentrate on myself."
The fixture is the reverse of that on the opening day of the season, when Sunderland marked their return to the top flight by beating Spurs with a last gasp goal and setting the Londoners on a rocky path that culminated in the sacking of manager Martin Jol and his replacement by Juande Ramos.
Since then, Tottenham's fortunes have improved while the Black Cats are in the bottom three, though victory over Portsmouth in their last outing has eased the pressure.
But Robbie Keane, with 15 goals to his name already this season, will be aiming to reapply the pressure on Roy by helping to fire Tottenham to a victory that will nudge them further towards the top half of the table.
No comments:
Post a Comment