Ireland and Manchester United captain Roy Keane is very doubtful to be fit to face Holland on Saturday at the Amsterdam Arena in the first game of a long World Cup qualifying campaign.

Keane sat out most of yesterday's training because of a back injury and when he did take the field in the afternoon he was visibly hurting.

It would be a major blow for Ireland's chances if Keane does not win his battle to be fit. He has the back problem for six months now but he still cannot find out what is causing it. Keane will travel with the squad to Holland but it still remains to be seen whether he plays or not.

The inspirational captain said: "On Sunday and Monday there was no chance of me playing against Holland - I could hardly walk to be honest. I should have come off after 10 or 15 minutes at West Ham on Saturday but like an idiot I stayed on for the entire match.

"This is the worst it has ever been and it's been going on for five or six months at this stage. I feel that it may have been the cause of my hamstring problem towards the end of last season.

"I've tried to cut out all the things that may have caused it - I've changed cars and beds. At one stage we thought it might have been the hard ground at United's new training ground."

Roy wants to do the best he can for his country and was very candid about his achievements in the green so far. He believes that he has not been at his best for his country since 1994 and he plans on rectifying that.

"People will think that I've let the country down before and I don't want to get into that scenario again," he concluded.

While Keane may feel that he has let down the Irish public the fans don't feel the same. Ireland without Roy Keane is only half the team that they are when he is on the field. He is a world class midfielder who controls the game for both club and country.