Robbie Keane freely admits he no longer has the capacity to fill the thankless, energy-sapping role of the lone striker, but the 35-year-old Tallaght man is hellbent on adding one more glorious chapter to an outstanding Republic of Ireland career.
"I’m not a coach yet. I’m not a manager. I’m a player and I’m here to play," a defiant Keane declared in an interview with RTÉ Sport, as he reflected on 18 years of international football.
He roared on to the scene as a prodigious talent at Wolves, starring in Ireland Under-18s' incredible European Championships success before stepping up to the senior squad in the March 1998 friendly against the Czech Republic.
Sixty-seven goals later, he stands head and shoulders above any other Irishman as his country's greatest ever goalscorer, a born finisher and immensely gifted attacker.
Now in the autumn of his playing days, Keane is no longer the talismanic on-field presence he once was. But that desire to prove his worth remains blindingly obvious.
I’m not here to make the numbers up. I’m not here as a cheerleader.
“Am I going to be one that plays up front on my own and runs around? No. It’s not my game," Keane admitted.
"Certain players are suited for certain situations, certain games, and that’s just the way it is.
"Is it tough to take as a player when you’re not first choice? Of course, because you want to play all the time. I’m not here to make the numbers up. I’m not here as a cheerleader.
"I’m here to play my part in the games. When given the opportunity I’ll take it. Unfortunately I haven’t had too many opportunities. When you’re playing ten minutes, 12 minutes here and there, you try and do your best but when your 3-0 down it’s difficult.
"We’ve got another game on Wednesday and if I’m called upon I’ll give my best and hopefully get a result for the team.
“When you’ve done your coaching badges you have a different outlook on things but as I said before I’m not a coach yet. I’m not a manager. I’m a player and I’m here to play."
Keane was part of a generation of Irish kids exposed to regular doses of giant-killings and victories against the odds.
The period between Euro 88 and USA 94 remains a golden era that may never be emulated, and Italy are a big part of that story.
“The US '94 [win over Italy] stands out more than any other game. That was the time as a young kid growing up I was thinking, ‘these are special moments that you want to be involved in’," Keane recalled.
"I was lucky enough myself in 2002 [in Korea and Japan] to have that opportunity. Certainly there’s great memories playing against Italy. The last few years we’ve had some good games against them.
"Are they a good team? They’re very well organised. Are they as known as they have been over the last few years? You’d say no.
"But they defend very, very well, which they’ve always done. They can score goals. It’ll be a tough game. But we know what we have to do. We have to go and win the game. If we don’t we’re going home."
An opening display full of energy and quality earned a highly creditable draw with Sweden, but the mood has been dampened by a Belgian whitewash, a Bordeaux pasting that punched Irish optimism in the gut.
Keane is unmoved. The showdown with the Azzurri in Lille on Wednesday night could not be more straightforward: win or bust.
This will separate the men from the boys now because we have to stand up
“Naturally after the Sweden game the lads were disappointed which you would be, knowing there were three points there that we could have got, but we had to pick ourselves up quickly because we had another tough game against Belgium. It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. We didn’t play that well.
“They were a much better team, kept the ball a lot better than we did. That was disappointing but in these kind of tournaments it’s very, very important to jump back on the horse quickly because you have a quick turnaround and you can’t feel too sorry for yourself.
“We have a major, major massive game on Wednesday against Italy which is going to be a tough game as we know, but we’re quite capable of getting something out of the game.
“Everyone needs to stick together. It’s okay when you make mistakes. That’s part of the game, that’s part of football. We all make mistakes. It’s how you bounce back from that. This will separate the men from the boys now because we have to stand up. If we don’t, we’re going home."
With coaching badges already tucked away and an ambition to move into that side of the game when he finally hangs up his boots, Keane finds himself looking at the bigger picture.
Ireland will never be found lacking when it comes to commitment and hunger for the fight, but with each passing year the gulf in technical terms between the Irish and our European rivals seems to widen.
The former Leeds, Inter Milan, Spurs and Liverpool man sees cause for optimism.
“Belgium I think had a ten-year plan and they’re seeing the rewards now of players coming through," he said.
"[High Performance Director of the FAI] Ruud Dokter at the moment is doing a good job in terms of the way he’s going about it.
"Hopefully we can see the rewards in maybe five to ten years. The problem is there’s so much money in the game, certainly in England, that you’re not going to get the likes of myself, Duffer, Shay [Given] and Richie [Dunne] who’s going to go straight into the first team.
"You’re going to get a lot of players playing in the Championship. The Premier League is very difficult. People can just go and spend £5m on a player in Belgium, France, a young kid; take him from the academy.
"All we can do as a nation is stick to the plan they have in place. We have to be a bit patient."
Further down the road but not quite over the hill, on Wednesday night in Lille Robbie Keane will be waiting for one last opportunity to spark cartwheels across the nation.
