There's a misconception that Robbie Keane is some kind of unserious b***er merchant in the dressing room. We don't really know where it comes from. Music is in Keane's blood and he's famously a fan of sing-song but you don't score 68 international goals without being deathly serious about your game. Perhaps people see the surname Keane and want to believe Robbie is some kind of binary opposite to his ex-Ireland teammate from Cork.
Robbie doesn't suffer fools lightly either, as evidenced by an interview in today's Daily Mail with Craig Hope about his new role as Middlesbrough assistant manager. Mr Hope thought it was a good idea to ask Robbie if he'll be playing tunes in the dressing rooms to lighten mood around big matches.
Before we get to Robbie's response, just imagine the following preposterous scene Mr Hope is presenting here. Boro has just lost 3-0 at home to Brentford, Woodgate is facing the sack, the Boro players are dejectedly checking their Instagram feeds in the physio's room when in walks with Robbie Keane wearing a jester's cap, playing 'Don't Worry Be Happy' on the ukulele.
Keane dealt with the question the appropriate level of opprobrium:
'What the f***?' he responds. 'I'm not a clown. I'm not here to entertain people. What's singing got to do with me being a coach?'
'I like a laugh and joke,' he says. 'We don't want people coming in here as miserable f***s. We want them to be happy, but for it to be done properly. It's a serious job we're doing.'
The journalist followed up by asking Robbie if he was afraid of confrontation.
'Who, me? What do you think?'
We're very much here for the Robbie Keane bad cop era and expect to see a lot more of it once the Championship begins this weekend.
