Robbie Keane plays down past Germany maulings

Robbie Keane has played down the significance of Germany's recent wins over the Republic of Ireland ahead of tonight's Euro 2016 qualifier in Gelsenkirchen.

Joachim Low's side cruised to 6-1 and 3-0 victories over the Irish en route to qualifying for the World Cup that they won in the summer.

Martin O'Neill has since replaced boss Giovanni Trappatoni, and Keane is now refusing to read too much into those heavy defeats.

"To be honest with you I don't think the players are thinking too much about what happened in the past, we have to concentrate on what we're doing now," he told reporters.

"I think we're a different team than we were a few years ago, so it's certainly something the players haven't mentioned this week, and it's something they shouldn't to be honest with you, it's a different game."

Kickoff this evening is scheduled for 7.45pm.