'Robbie can be twice the player he is now'

Hoddle's spur for a striker keen to enjoy reunion

An eye for a chance is one of the hallmarks of a good striker, and Robbie Keane possesses it. An eye for the main chance is something else, and there are those who would point to that as a defining characteristic of any international footballer playing at his fifth club in three years, having cost £38 million in transfer fees along the way.

It is an understandable accusation, but represents a misreading of a straightforward character propelled by one driving force: he loves playing football, and has done since childhood days on the rough estates of north Dublin. Even standing on the terraces at Lansdowne Road cheering the Republic of Ireland was only second best, though Tony Cascarino recently recalled the young Keane, new to the international squad, sitting at his feet listening in something like awe to tales of the boys in green he had once cheered.

But to play was the thing. Wolverhampton Wanderers offered that oppor-tunity when he was a 17-year-old, and Coventry City made him a Premiership regular; Internazionale took a gamble but required the sort of patience he was not prepared to develop; and when first David O'Leary and then Terry Venables would not offer sufficient starts at Leeds United, Keane became determined to uproot himself yet again in search of a manager with greater faith in his abilities. He found one in Tottenham's Glenn Hoddle, and this afternoon at White Hart Lane will be turning out for the first time against his previous club.

Anyone hoping for talk of revenge and retribution would have been disappointed by the conversation at Tottenham's training ground on Friday, once he had finally been persuaded to give up shooting practice in the pouring rain and don civvies. "I'm looking forward to it, it should be a good game, I've got the family coming over [from Ireland]. It'll be nice to see all the lads again. I've got a soft spot for them and I have a lot of friends up there, and good memories."

On Leeds's recent struggles, he says: "They've not been playing too well, but they're only three points behind us, and it's amazing how things can change. The players have a lot of respect for Terry [Venables, the manager] and he was as good as gold to me."

A valid test in these circumstances is the reaction of the opposing club's supporters to their former hero. When Rio Ferdinand turned out at Elland Road for Manchester United, a standing ovation was not on the cards. Keane can reasonably expect more cheers than boos from fans who sympathised with his frustration at the role of go-on-and-get-us-a-goal substitute. "I had a good relationship with the fans and hopefully I'll get a nice reception. I think maybe Leeds needed money and it worked out well for me as well, because first and foremost every footballer wants to play football."

He admits in the next sentence – but clearly cannot quite believe such things are possible – that: "There's a lot of players just happy to be at clubs and pick their wages up. I'm just one of those players who love playing football. When I'm happiest is when I'm kicking the ball around the park on a Saturday afternoon. For me playing football week in and week out is very important. Sitting on the bench is very frustrating and I don't think Leeds saw the best of me because I didn't play as many games as I'd have liked. I'd be doing well and then the next week I'd find myself on the bench again.

"Sometimes you find that hard to deal with. It was the same in Italy. But I'd never change anything I've done. It's all been great experience."

No grudges, no regrets; it hardly fits the notion of a calculating figure only interested in making his next million. "He's a smashing lad," said Hoddle, who was prepared to bear false witness in claiming that Spurs had no interest in signing Keane before paying £7m to do just that in September. "People forget he's still only 22, five years off the beginning of his peak. I think he can be twice as good by then. He has a lot of belief in his ability and you have to drag him off the training ground."

The last words echoed those of Mick McCarthy, who gave a 17-year-old Keane his first cap in 1998 and soon afterwards watched him succeed Johnny Giles as Ireland's youngest-ever scorer. Niall Quinn, who needed 91 matches to register the country's highest individual total of 21 goals, has always accepted that Keane, with 14 so far, will pass him sooner rather than later.

After the World Cup finals, where Keane poached three goals in successive games, unexpected defeats by Russia and Switzerland led to McCarthy's departure for reasons as mystifying to Keane as anyone: "It was a big disappointment, as he'd done a tremendous job for Ireland. But it was the way the press over there were jumping on his back for no reason whatsoever."

International considerations must now be set aside for some months, in the search for the true potential Keane claims to see when he looks round the Tottenham dressing-room. Today Hoddle, in turn, will be looking at him: "Everyone gets a bit of a charge from playing against their old team. That's good as long as you don't try too hard."

A goal and a trademark cartwheel, then, to remind Yorkshire folk what they are missing? A chance would be a fine thing.