Roy Keane today left the detailed injury updates to Martin O'Neill, saying that a full update on Jeff Hendrick's fitness will be delivered by the manager tomorrow. The midfielder did not train today: he has gone for a scan on an injured glute, while his Burnley teammate Stephen Ward also sat out today with a sore knee.
It fell instead to Keane to display arguably the biggest quality he instills in this Irish squad: his burning desire to compete. "That's what we are in the game for. This is what you are born to do, to face these challenges. Get on with it, and may the best team win".
Keane admitted that Italy were "probably a team to avoid" in the playoff draw, but did accentuate the Danish threat, describing the upcoming tie as "tough" at least ten times.
Specifically concerning Ireland's approach to shackling the devilish
Get the balance right. All the players will do their own bit of homework on the players that they are facing. You have huge respect for the players you are up against. But you have to get the balance right, you can't overestimate the opposition and underestimate yourselves. We have some good players.
We have to get close to these players, you have to be aggressive with possession and out of possession. If you give these players time on the ball, they'll hurt you. Again, the top lads will always find space. As much as we talk about us stopping them, they will have to try and stop some of our players.
Martin O'Neill has spoken of the "inevitability" that players will miss the second leg through suspension, given that eleven Irish players are carrying yellow cards on their way into the first leg. Keane, however, says that it won't affect the mentality in Copenhagen. "Football is a physical game. You don't want players picking up daft yellow cards for kicking the ball away, but if the ball is there to be done, you can't be telling footballers not to go for the ball. Of course not. It's part of the game."
Keane was non-committal on questions surrounding team selection, although judging by his comments, Wes Hoolahan is unlikely to feature in both legs. "Wes has said himself that playing two games in four days is difficult for any thirty-odd-year-old player. But Wes is vastly experienced, he can put his foot on the ball, and that will be vastly important for us at some stage over the two games".
Keane's magnetism usually draws a couple of reporters across the Irish sea, eager to ask him about the topics of the day affecting English football. Sky Sports courted opinion on Keane's contract situation and any potential interest in a return to club management, only to see the assistant manager twice demur.
Keane did bite, however, when asked about his recent comments about Liverpool, whom he "would not watch at the bottom of his garden".
Anyone who has ever spoken to me about football will tell you of the huge respect I have for Liverpool. I grew up watching them in the 80s, winning leagues every year. My comments were tongue-in-cheek, and hopefully, people will see it that way. I'm not here to defend every comment I've made over the last months and years, but people should lighten up a bit. Just tongue-in-cheek.
Later on, Keane was asked about the culture of judging managers too quickly, in light of the lukewarm reception that has met David Moyes on his appointment at West Ham. He hinted at unleashing his opinion, but ultimately restrained himself.
It's part of the course now. There's a lot of media spin about certain managers. There's a lot of good PR for some managers out there, and some lads....I probably don't want to go into that today. Just focus on the games. It's tough being a manager out there at the moment, that's probably why I'm better off staying here.
Everyone who knows the game has respect for David Moyes. But there's a lof of managers out there with good media spin, while other managers get away with murder.... but that's just my personal opinion.
