Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy has warned Robbie Keane to shape up for this summer's World Cup, or risk suffering in the heat and humidity of the Far East.
McCarthy, who on the eve of yesterday's 2-0 friendly win over Russia at Lansdowne Road claimed Keane looked sharp, was forced to reappraise his comments after the game.
There remains no doubt as to Keane's guaranteed place in McCarthy's 23-man squad heading to the finals in Korea and Japan, following his exploits in qualifying to help the Republic reach only their third World Cup.
McCarthy, though, is concerned about the fitness of Leeds striker Keane, who faces life on the bench for the rest of this season as he is behind Robbie Fowler and Mark Viduka in the Elland Road pecking order.
Keane visibly tired as the game wore on before being replaced by debut-making Millwall striker Richard Sadlier in the 73rd minute, with his performance overshadowed by the brilliance of starting partner Damien Duff.
McCarthy has made it clear Keane and Duff will almost certainly be his first-choice frontline pairing when the Republic begin their World Cup campaign against Cameroon on June 1st.
Keane, though, will have to considerably improve his fitness if he is to last anywhere near a full 90 minutes in the sticky, energy-sapping conditions which will prevail in Japan.
"Bear in mind he's only just come back from an ankle operation, and he's not had a lot of first-team football, but I still think Robbie can be fitter and sharper," said McCarthy.
"As I've already stated, Robbie is one of those players with his name etched on one of the seats going to Japan because of his previous performances.
"But this World Cup is going to be hard. It's going to be hot and it's going to be humid and I think players need to be playing first-team football and to be fit when we're down there, so I would still like to see him fitter."
PA