Manchester United defender John O'Shea believes that if Roy Keane had still been playing for the Republic of Ireland they would have qualified for the European Championship finals.
Keane quit international football after his fall-out during the 2002 World Cup with the then manager Mick McCarthy. In his absence Ireland failed to make it through to Euro 2004 in Portugal next year.
Keane, however, has continued to play a pivotal role for United after a hip operation and was outstanding in the Champions League victory against Rangers in midweek.
O'Shea would love nothing better than teaming up with him again on the international stage. He told MUTV: "I know what an influence he has on the Manchester United team, so I know what an influence he could have had on the Republic of Ireland team.
"We had a poor start, got it back together but it was just a bit too much. Maybe if we had a Keano [it could have been different].
"We needed to win at home against Russia and we still had a chance in Switzerland. I would like to have seen how he would have driven the team.
"I remember watching him in the World Cup qualifiers against Holland and Portugal. They were two of his best performances for Ireland and he was the main reason they qualified."