He awoke in the night with a fever.

His temperature was soaring. He was shivering uncontrollably. His pillow was drenched with sweat. His head was pounding.

The physical and mental toll the intense pressures of football management can take on a man became apparent to Gordon Strachan during his very first stint in the dugout with Coventry City.

The Scot was struck down by a debilitating illness as he attempted to keep the Highfield Road club up in the English Premiership at the start of the 1999/2000 season and spent two days confined to his bed.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, the delirious coach was plagued by bizarre visions. At one stage, his condition deteriorated to such an extent he even imagined Coventry had gone out and signed a 19-year-old for £6 million.

"I had some sort of virus," recalled Strachan yesterday. "I had something terribly, terribly wrong with me. It was a horrendous thing I had.

"After coming through it after 48 hours, I said to my chairman: 'I had a dream we'd signed Robbie Keane!' He said: 'We are signing him! It'll be done in the next couple of days!' I said: 'Oh Jesus!'

"The chairman bought him when I was sick. We got him from Mark (Scotland assistant, McGhee) who was the Wolves manager back then. He tried his best to tell me he was rubbish.

"The chairman must have spoken to me when the virus first started, but I forgot about it. The fee (a then British transfer record for a teenager) was a lot of money at the time."

That substantial investment, though, proved to be cash well spent for Coventry; they sold the Republic of Ireland internationalist to Inter Milan for £13 million, more than double their initial outlay, less than a year later.

Strachan's experiences with Keane may, after he had recovered from his bout of ill health and got over his shock at the size of the fee paid for such a youthful and inexperienced player anyway, have been positive.

But the Scotland manager is only too aware the forward can be his worst nightmare in Dublin this weekend.

Martin O'Neill, his Republic of Ireland counterpart, has suggested he may hand his side's record goalscorer, who has netted no fewer than 65 goals in 139 international appearances, a start in the Euro 2016 qualifier in the Aviva Stadium tomorrow evening.

Now 34 and playing for MLS club LA Galaxy in the United States, the former Celtic player is approaching the end of his lengthy and exceptional professional career. But his old coach still feels he has the capacity to damage their hopes of qualifying for the European Championship finals in France next year.

"I've known Robbie since he was a boy," he said. "What a gifted, natural talent he was. But he worked at it. He is a great professional.

"I was struck by how clever he was at that age. How he knew where there was a weakness in a defence or a player. Add that to his incredible pace over 15 yards, his bravery on the ball and his agility.

"I just thought he was wonderful to watch. The coaches used to come away from training going 'Woof! Jesus!' I remember Paul Williams laughing one day when Robbie stuck his mate Richard Shaw on his backside. Willo was laughing so much we had to stop the game. It was fantastic. The boy just had so much natural ability."

Strachan continued: "The whole package was just fantastic. He used to do things which were just incredible. He'd do things I'd been trying to teach kids for two or three years. He did this thing where he'd come in for the ball and then spin in behind.

"After watching him do it a couple of times, I said to him: 'Who taught you how to do that?' I thought it must have been a youth team coach. But he said: 'Nobody.' I was like: 'Okay, right, good'. Well done to the academy!"

Keane is set to make himself available for selection by his country in his home city tomorrow evening despite his cousin being killed in a tragic accident there earlier this week. He trained with the squad as usual yesterday. If anything, a lack of fitness may count against him when his manager O'Neill selects his starting line-up.

Strachan dismissed suggestions that knowing the player so well, having worked with him at club level in the distant past, will help his preparation for a Group D fixture which is of enormous importance to Scotland's hopes of reaching the finals in France next summer.

He believes the two rivals are evenly balanced - a fact backed by their last bruising encounter at Celtic Park in November when Scotland just sneaked a 1-0 victory thanks to a late Shaun Maloney goal - and anticipates it will be another close contest despite the undoubted quality of their talismanic front man.

"I don't know if it helps at all that we know Robbie," he said. "I think the players have seen enough of Robbie to know what we are going to get. And I think they have seen enough of (Jon) Walters and (Shane) Long (the other Republic of Ireland strikers) as well.

"Sometimes when you get squads together you have to do a lot of individual analysis. But we know each other so well. I don't think there will be much in the game. If you look at the last game there was nothing in it apart from the wonderful goal.

"You are always on your toes when you are a manager. You never think: 'I know what the team is going to be'. But it's not a big thing. We have to respect any manager who changes it. I am looking at 13 players who he will pick 11 from. I don't think any of us will be too far wrong if we picked those 13 players."

If one of them is Robbie Keane, it could well be unlucky for Gordon Strachan and unlucky for Scotland.