High praise

New Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, has singled out striker Andy Keogh for praise following his sides training stint in the Algarve ahead of this weekends International fixtures.

"Andy Keogh plays football. He is young but he plays football, he knows what to do and that is very important.

"His intelligence is important. When the ball comes he understands immediately what to do. He is not an easy opponent." Trapattoni said yesterday.

Comments that are in stark contrast to the opinions of some Wolves fans who would happily see the tireless youngster shipped out with the other three departing strikers.

Their bone of contention is, and will always be, his strike rate, which admittedly, is not prolific, notching up 16 goals in a season and a half at a rate of .25 a game.

But Keogh's game is about more than finding the net, as Trapattoni highlights, and it isn't about running round like a headless chicken either.

Which is why Mick McCarthy will continue to start him ahead of others, no matter how loud their name is sung from the terraces.

Now paired with a strike partner that literally scores for fun, maybe opinions will change if, as we believe, the Keogh-SEB partnership gets tagged as the most feared in the division next season.

Stranger things have happened.