Mark McGhee: I was so impressed with Robbie Keane I gave him three contracts!

Scotland assistant boss Mark McGhee has told how he was so impressed by a young Robbie Keane, he gave him THREE contracts in just three months.

With 139 caps and 65 international goals to his credit, the Republic of Ireland star will be arguably the biggest threat to Scotland’s chances in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Yet, as McGhee explained, it was a very different story back in 1997 when, as Wolves manager, he spotted him taking part in a youth training session.

“They were training near us so I went over to have a look and this one kid looked great,” said McGhee.

“I asked the youth coaches, Chris Evans and Chris Turner: ‘Who’s that?’. They replied: ‘That’s the lad Keane who came over at the end of last season’.

“So I got him over to train with us and he was our best player.

“His feet were just so quick it was mesmerising. Just as you think someone’s about to nail him, he’s gone and, of course, he is such a good finisher.

“I remember thinking: ‘Maybe this is a bit of an illusion’.

“We were going north on a tour to play some games so I took him with us and, by the time we came back, it was even more obvious he was our best player.

“So I had phoned ahead to tell the club to prepare a contract not the usual ones you give to 16-year-olds but one that would take him through until he was 19.

“And then, by the end of pre-season, I was asking them to give him another one!

“By the start of the season I had decided he was going to play.

“He made his debut at Norwich and we won 2-0. He scored both goals. And at the end of the game, I phoned the club again and said: “Get another contract ready”.

“So Robbie signed three different contracts in the space of three months. He was brilliant he still is.”

Keane went on to become the then most-expensive British teenager when he joined Coventry City, then managed by Gordon Strachan, for £6 million in 1999.

Coventry’s investment was also to prove a good one they received £13 million for his services from Inter Milan a season later.

Yet despite his meteoric rise, the striker didn’t forget the part his first senior manager played in his career.

“When I was with Brighton, we played Spurs in the FA Cup and they beat us 2-1. We played really well at White Hart Lane and Keanie scored a late goal, an overhead kick.

“It was just brilliant. It was his 100th goal and at the end of the game he signed his shirt and brought it into the dressing-room.

“He said: ‘Thanks for everything Mark’ and gave me the shirt. I’ve still got it.”