Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni has said he may drop star forward and captin Robbie Keane because of his lack of first team football.

Trapattoni made his remarks after Keane missed a vital penalty against Slovakia and looked far from his best.
He has been used as a substitute this year by Tottenham Hotspur and can not make the first team.

“He has experience and is confident with the ball, although today he was missing the technique a little bit."Trapattoni said

"The last game he scored a goal so the goalkeeper knows where he placed the last penalty. He was tired and I could have changed him. But psychologically it’s like killing him.”

"Missing penalties is not a problem. The problem is I know he is not 100 per cent fit. He didn’t play like he can."

“I could have given him a rest, I could have changed one or two players and in the future it’s possible I could try this situation. He can improve his condition. He wanted to stay at Tottenham in August, and I agreed because I thought he would play.
Trapattoni said the team were unlucky to only draw one -one.“I was sure the team would show a good direction and we could win this game,” continued Trapattoni. “We played very, very well in the first half and we could have closed the game with the penalty. We deserved to win the game.

“The second half was more balanced and both teams had the possibility to win the game. We had a great chance for Robbie but it’s a positive situation psychologically and a positive result. The performance was important.

“Before the game I was confident. I can be a little bit disappointed but we lost the game (against Russia) and we can accept this result.”