GORDON STRACHAN is relishing taking on an in-form Republic of Ireland in the Euro 2016 qualifier next month and has dismissed suggestions that there is any animosity between himself and Roy Keane following the publication of the Irish assistant manager's autobiography.
Strachan's Scotland face the Republic at Celtic Park on Friday, November 14, and Martin O'Neill's side will arrive in Glasgow as joint leaders of Group D with seven points, having drawn with Germany this week on the back of wins against Georgia and Gibraltar.
But Strachan, whose team beat Georgia at the weekend before drawing 2-2 with Poland in Warsaw, said: "Ireland are in good fettle, good form, but we're the same. Poland beat Germany and people talk about them being fantastic but we're happy with how we're playing and we showed it didn't matter to us how Poland did on Saturday. We were next on and we felt good about it."
Both Strachan and O'Neill are, of course, former Celtic managers but the former played down any suggestion that this will be a contest staged in the dugouts. "We'll not be locking horns, it is the players who are playing," he said. "Martin, like me, doesn't over-think football. We generally leave it to the players. We give them an idea of how to play and then let them get on with it."
He added: "It'll be a British cup tie-type thing. Neither of us will be too interested in who wins the possession, put it that way."
Strachan also brushed aside suggestions that Keane's recently-published autobiography, in which he made pointed comments about the Scotland manager, added spice to the tie. The former Manchester United player said he decided to sign for Celtic in 2006 to spite Strachan.
Keane had been angered by Strachan's suggestion that Celtic "did not need" him with the then Celtic manager adding he "was not bothered" whether he signed or not. Keane added that one of the reasons he ultimately came to Glasgow was to prove Strachan wrong.
The 57-year-old yesterday said he had not given "a second thought" to Keane's comments, adding: "We have spoken about bits and bobs from our time at Celtic in the last three years with ITV. We just laugh at things.
"You need to take into account how he wrote the book. He was sitting smiling when he told that story. He laughs and so do the people round about him. There you go, it's funny."
Scotland have four points in Group D with the game against the Irish assuming substantial significance over who qualifies for France 2016. The major surprise of the group has been the form of Germany, who have been beaten by Poland and drawn with O'Neill's side.
However, Strachan said: "If you lose the players they've lost to retirement and injury, it's going to have an impact. Their whole team has been decimated. Their team against Ireland was unrecognisable from the team that won the World Cup.
"But if you look at the number of times people have questioned Germany in their history, over the last 60 years, we all end up with egg on our faces. Listen, they've lost key men and you cannot do that and just tick over. They can't be the same as they were when they had all those players. It's absolutely impossible."
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