THERE have been so many different strands in the build-up to this Euro 2016 qualifying match between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland that it was perhaps inevitable that Roy Keane would eventually feature in some capacity.
The first properly competitive fixture between these Celtic (with a hard C) cousins since 1987 has sparked debate on a number of topics; the fluidity of nationality, sportsmanship in the modern game, the fair allocation of tickets and the significance of the match itself. And just when the debate on whether it was okay to boo Aiden McGeady or not was just about subsiding, in stumbled Keane with his own piece of mini-drama to keep the pot bubbling for another day.
Details of what exactly happened on Wednesday night at the Irish team's hotel just outside Dublin remain hazy, with reports of an altercation that led to a fan requiring medical treatment and the police being called.
Both the Football Association of Ireland and manager Martin O'Neill, the latter in a short video address, lent their support to Keane and effectively exonerated the former Manchester United midfielder from any blame. And yet the fact it was Keane, again, at the centre of things ahead of a big game should have come as no real surprise to anyone. Assistant managers rarely generate headlines but few have the profile of Roy Keane.
If there was a coup in persuading the one-time Sunderland and Ipswich Town manager to sign up as O'Neill's assistant last year then it was offset with the knowledge that there could be one or two bumps along the journey. Ireland's start to this qualifying campaign - two wins, and a draw away to Germany - would suggest there is potential in this unlikely managerial pairing, even despite Keane's propensity for generating disruption, whether self-induced or otherwise.
In the summer there was intense speculation that he was about to become the new Celtic manager, only for him to turn down the role and accept a post as Paul Lambert's assistant at Aston Villa instead. Then there was his latest autobiography, in which he lacerated just about everyone inside it, that was released last month ahead of a double-header against Gibraltar and Germany.
And now there is this latest episode that has unwittingly deflected attention from tonight's game at Celtic Park. Ray Houghton, a former international team-mate and part of the recruitment panel that appointed O'Neill as manager, felt Keane's character and persona meant drama would always follow him around like a child trailing after an ice cream van.
"You're going to get that with Roy," he said. "He's a larger-than-life character, probably Ireland's greatest ever player. There will always be stories about him. Even something small can be escalated into a massive story. That might be the case here.
"Only Martin can answer [whether he will eventually get fed up with it all]. But at the moment he has to back his own judgement. He picked Roy to be his assistant, that was his choice, nobody else's. Maybe he's had a word privately with Roy to say these things can't happen. But I think there's a good partnership there.
"Everyone will have their opinion of Roy and that may be borne out more from what he was like as a player than as a manager or just as a man. But I've seen a change in him. He's got good ideas, he understands what the game is about and he wants to show the public he can do the job."
Houghton, the Glasgow-born midfielder who went on to amass 73 caps for the Republic after being overlooked by Scotland, is confident this latest brouhaha will not have a bearing on the Irish performance. "I'm sure Martin and Roy will be saying to their players, 'don't use this as an excuse'. There will be some banter and joking about it but nothing else."
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