Keith Andrews has dismissed Roy Keane's claim that he is a 'bulls***ter' as he insisted he puts everything into his role as Stephen Kenny's number two.
Keane gave Andrews short shrift in an interview two months after Kenny and his fellow Dubliner were promoted from the Ireland under-21s to their senior posts in 2020.
"If I can make one point about new Irish staff, I’ve heard a lot of bulls***ters over the last 10 years and Keith Andrews is up there with the best of them," said Keane, clearly referring to Andrews' work as a media pundit.
The 41-year-old has stepped away from his media work to focus on his Ireland duties and had not taken on any official team media duties in the role until yesterday.
Quizzed on Keane's comments ahead of tonight's friendly clash with Lithuania at the Aviva Stadium (7.45pm), Andrew replied: "You might have to ask him why.
"In terms of how it affected me it didn't affect me in the slightest.
"I've touched on it before about how passionate I am about this role.
"My conscience would be very, very clean in terms of what I put into it because, apart from family life, it is actually the only thing I care about - in terms of making this team better, in terms of making Irish football better, in terms of giving us a team we are proud to watch.
"I have obviously been a fan, I've been a player, it is my only team - it's the only team I care about.
"So, no, it didn't affect me. When you go into a new job players pretty quickly suss you out, if you are not up to the level.
"So in terms of the preparation going into it, it was obviously of a high level."
Andrews did staunchly defend Kenny on the 'Off The Ball' radio programme last September and, on the back of a run of seven games unbeaten, he admits that the Ireland camp is in a much happier position.
In terms of making the contrast between Kenny's approach and that of previous regimes, such as in the Martin O'Neill era when Keane was his assistant, the ex-midfielder said: "In terms of previous regimes that was their bag. I was very much a fan at that stage.
"I travelled to the Euros as a fan or a player in a certain period and very much a fan before that.
"That was their bag. This is our regime and this is how we see fit to put things into place and hopefully we can just continue to work and continue building to keep that momentum going."
