20110402

Keane: Could sign permanently
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Robbie Keane has confirmed he will sign permanently for West Ham if they avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international signed for the Hammers in the January transfer window with a view to a deal worth around £6million.
His appearances for Avram Grant’s team have been restricted by injury but as he showed while on international duty with Republic of Ireland this week, he still retains his goalscoring instincts.
Despite West Ham still being under the threat of relegation, Keane has indicated he is willing to ply his trade at Upton Park after this term, provided they remain in the top flight.
“First and foremost, I just want to get on the pitch and play football,” Keane told the club’s official match day programme.
“It is a short career, so the last thing I want to be doing is sitting on the bench.
“At my age, I need to be playing regular football and, hopefully, with the squad of players we have, we’re quite capable of staying in the Premier League.
“If that’s the case then I’ll obviously be here next year.”
Money
Keane has spent a total of seven seasons at White Hart Lane, which was punctuated by a brief sojourn at Liverpool and loan spells at Celtic and now West Ham.
Under Harry Redknapp, the Republic of Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer has found his first-team chances increasingly limited, which is something he felt he had to change.
“I would prefer to be criticised for going to play football than be criticised for sitting on the bench and collecting my money,” he added.
“I’m not one of those players who picks up my money up for not doing anything.
“Some players can do that and are quite happy to sit on the bench and go through life and it’s no problem, but I’m not one of those players.”
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