There are a lot of working class kids who look up to Robbie Keane and it's fully justified. Tonight, against Nigeria was his 39th goal for Ireland, his scoring record is phenomenal. We've had some great strikers over the years but the closest anyone has come is 21 goals.
We also have Kevin Doyle who is a terrific talent but we don't have him next week [against Bulgaria]. Tonight, Trapattoni was trying to prepare for the next game and he gave Leon Best a chance.
You shouldn't give anyone credit for putting effort in when playing for Ireland, what you should be looking at a player and seeing if they can give us something different. I looked at Best and I would have expected him to be useful tonight, but whether he'll go beyond useful as an Irish international? I'd have my doubts.
I thought that Nigeria were poor defensively. I don't think that you necessarily hear this about all the African teams, there are so African teams that do manage to organise themselves. They have a different culture of football - the ball and possession are very important - and most of the beautiful moments tonight did come from Nigeria.
Getting back to Ireland, and Keith Andrews in particular, I think you look at our young international players and you love to make instant judgements on them. We sit in the comfort of the studio and quite often we haven't seen these players live. Now, Andrews is a fighter, he's 29 in September and is the new kid on the block. Everyone has a role to play and his attitude is superb.
Finally, I think tonight, the question that arises is whether Trapattoni is convinced about a partner for Robbie Keane next week. He's a conservative but there is a possibility that he could use Liam Miller, who put in a good performance tonight and has plenty of ability to pass the ball, in an advanced position.
Pat Dolan was speaking as part of Setanta Sports 1's live coverage of the Republic of Ireland v Nigeria.