Robbie Keane insists he will shut the Republic of Ireland goalscoring record out of his mind as he refocuses on leading his country to the 2006 World Cup finals.
Keane moved to within three of Niall Quinn's 21-goal all-time record with a second-half brace to sink Canada at Lansdowne Road last night.
But the in-form Tottenham striker said the most important thing was shrugging off last month's European Championship qualifying misery and building towards Germany in three years' time.
Keane said: "The record isn't something I really think about. It'll be good if I beat it but I'm very proud to play for my country and I just love scoring goals.
"Hopefully I will do it but I will take each game at a time. We just have to move on now and get on with putting up good performances."
Barring sudden misfortune the 23-year-old is certain to overhaul Quinn's tally and could do so before the qualifying process begins with a few more friendly matches lined up for early next year.
His second half brace against the low-key Canadians kept him sixth in the all-time list but one more goal will bring him level with John Aldridge, Don Givens and Tony Cascarino and bring him within one of Frank Stapleton.
Keane has homed in on the record after just 47 caps - just over half the number handed to Quinn during his long and successful career.
PA