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Coventry City hero in hot water as he is linked to head coach role
Coventry City hero Robbie Keane is high in the betting to replace Mark Robins as Sky Blues boss - but he is also in hot water over his previous job.
Keane is currently the 9/1 fourth favourite with Sky Bet to replace the sacked Robins at the CBS Arena, but he became the unwitting focus of a social media backlash after a visit to the Republic of Ireland’s training camp on Monday.
Ireland’s 44-year-old record caps winner and goalscorer was at the team hotel in Dublin to meet the players and hand out caps ahead of the Nations League fixtures against Finland and England.
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However, Keane’s trip prompted criticism on social media of his decision to remain in the role of Maccabi Tel Aviv manager amid Israel’s military action in Gaza and Lebanon. He went on to leave the position in June after guiding the club to the league title, and is now one of the names in the frame to take over from Robins.
While current Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson played down the controversy, opposition to Keane’s stance could yet stand in the way of his next career move - including any Sky Blues interest.
Keane, who arrived at Coventry City in 1999 from Wolves for a then record British fee for a teenager, joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in June 2023, insisting he was in Israel as a “football man” who did not want to “get into politics”.
However, politics found him when the season was interrupted by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war on Gaza. The Dubliner and his staff were evacuated for a while before matches resumed on November 9.
Hallgrimsson said he “didn’t know about it” when asked about the row, instead praising Keane’s speech to the Ireland players and “words of wisdom” from winning 146 senior caps and scoring 68 international goals.
He said: “He had a good speech. The players were asking him questions. I think it is good to connect past players, the legends from the past to the present.
“What was really good was how he, as a goalscorer, a really high-profile player at his time, was talking about the importance of team unity, fighting for each other, team spirit.
“It was probably not what you would think a striker would say, scoring all his goals, but I think it was a really good message to the players.”
Keane played 34 times for the Sky Blues after his £6m arrival from Wolves, scoring 12 goals along the way. That prompted a £13m move to Italy with Inter Milan - and he went on to star for the likes of Leeds, Tottenham and Liverpool after returning to the UK.
Defender Nathan Collins, like Keane a former Wolves player, added: “As a kid growing up, these are the players you watch. You watch him every international camp, you watch him score his goals for Ireland.
“You can’t talk to him on a personal level back then, you can just see what he is doing on the pitch, but now you see them on a personal level, what it means to him and what his team did.
“It’s nice to know that we are in a similar boat and what we are building here is what they had as well. We can take a lot of things from what he said and use them in our team.”
