Ireland striker Robbie Keane has already become Aston Villa’s in-game gaffer by shouting out pitch instructions to his short-term colleagues.
Keane has ingratiated himself to team-mates and fans alike with his brilliant double in the 3-2 victory at Wolves last Weekend and it capped an amazing full Villa start for the 31-year-old Irish captain who is currently on loan from LA Galaxy.
And Villa player Marc Albrighton has revealed that the record Irish striker’s guidance has been just as important as his goals.
“I was watching Goals on Sunday the day after the Wolves match and it was interesting to listen to Chris Kamara’s comments about Keano,” said Albrighton.
“He made the point that Keano was almost performing a manager’s role on the pitch with the other lads.
“He was telling everyone where to go and where to pass it. That’s something he’s definitely bringing to the side.
“If he can keep doing that and keep banging in the goals, we’ll all be delighted.
“He’s not only a great person to play with he’s also a nice guy to have around the place too.
“The young boys look up to him and know they can learn from him. To be training with a player with the wealth of experience like Keano is just brilliant.”
Albrighton believes all of Villa’s attacking players will benefit greatly from playing alongside Keane before his loan spell ends at the end of February.
“Robbie thinks one step ahead of everyone else,” said Albrighton.
“Not only does he see the pass before everyone else, he has the ability to execute it too
“He’s never played really as a target man, as such, he drops off into gaps and little pockets of space and he can punish people from finding these areas.
“He has the ability to thread the balls through to people like Benty, Gabby, Charles and myself and if he doesn’t do that and decides to shoot instead, we’ve all seen what happens then!
“He can only help our team and he certainly did that on Saturday.”
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