Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne can't believe the criticism Republic of Ireland teammate Robbie Keane cops.

Ireland will be leaning heavily on Keane in their World Cup playoff showdown with France in the coming days.

Dunne said: "It is mad, when you think about it - here is this guy who has scored 40 international goals, which is miles better than anyone else has ever managed in the history of Irish football, yet still he ships so much flak.

"Thankfully, he is strong-willed enough to ignore it. He doesn't have any time for negative people being around him and if people slag him off, then so be it. I don't think he cares what journalists write about him because he doesn't bother reading the papers.

"He has had enough managers pay enough money for him over the course of his career to convince him that even if some reporter or fan criticises him, then all of a sudden he is not a bad player.

"When he was younger, he might have dwelt on things a bit more, as we all would have. But as you enter your late 20s, you get to a stage where you realise you must have done something right to stay at the top level for so long.

"If Robbie needed reassurance, which he doesn't, all he'd have to do is look at his record - 40 international goals from 93 caps. That's sensational, especially because he's done it for Ireland and not one of Europe's powerhouses.

"To me, he's more important to us than Henry is for France because the French can call on Anelka, Benzema and Saha for cover, whereas we don't have guys with that kind of experience.

"To me, Robbie's one of the best players Ireland has ever had, and certainly the most under-rated."