Robbie Keane is one of the seasoned internationals for the Republic of Ireland, but he has come out in criticism of the style of play of the Irish ahead of the World Cup qualifying matches. The former Tottenham and Aston Villa striker has said that Ireland do not have a plan B under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who is widely believed to be in the last few months as the Ireland manager. His contract is coming to an end soon, but there has been no talk of a new deal from the Irish FA.

The likes of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane have been linked with the role in the last few weeks, and the latest comments by Keane does not help Trapattoni’s case. Ireland almost certain to be knocked out of the World Cup qualifying after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Sweden. They will be taking on Austria on Tuesday in a match that could see him win his 129th cap for the national team. Even though Ireland managed to take the lead against Sweden, they were unable to adapt to the match as Sweden came back into the encounter.

Trapattoni’s tactics have been highly criticised after the match, while Keane has said that the team does not have a plan B.

“We talk about Plan A and Plan B and crap like that, but Ireland has never had a Plan B before. We have always had Plan A, it’s as simple as that. Since I have been in the squad, we have played the exact same way. We don’t have the personnel to, like Spain, get the ball down and have 80 per cent possession against teams. We are just not that team. But we know our strengths and we stick to them. Unless it changes, maybe from grass-roots – but it’s not going to change for, certainly, a good few years,” said Keane.