Aston Villa loan signing Robbie Keane won't be nagging teammate Stephen Ireland about ending his international retirement.

Ireland has retired from the Republic of Ireland set-up and Keane insists he will not try to influence him to change his mind. But he looks forward to linking up with a player who has the ability to make scoring chances.

Keane said: "He's a great player, I saw it with the Irish team and in the week I've been here. He's intelligent and he knows the game.

"I'm sure the two of us will link well if we get a chance to play with each other. Come out of retirement? That's something you'd have to ask Stephen."