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Robbie Keane says the Republic of Ireland’s mauling by Germany during World Cup qualifying will not be preying on their minds tonight.
Germans ran out 6-1 winners at the Aviva Stadium two years ago and the sides now meet in Gelsenkirchen for a Euro 2016 qualifier.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think the players are thinking too much about what happened in the past,” said Republic striker Keane. “We have to concentrate on what we are doing now.
“We are certainly a different team than we were a few years ago. The players certainly haven’t mentioned it this week, and they shouldn’t be, to be honest with you. It’s a completely different game and we’re going into this game on a good run and with a lot of confidence.”
The world champions suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Poland on Saturday but Keane is confident his side can cope with any backlash.
“We have players in this squad who are very, very comfortable in what they are doing at club level, and they and can bring it on to the international stage,” said the former Spurs man.
“In the last two games, we have got some great results, so we are clearly confident that we can get something tonight.”
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