When it came to his involvement with the Ireland setup as both a player and a coach, Roy Keane consistently demanded the best in terms of preparation.

That is something that caused friction in the camp at times, most notably in Saipan. Standards had improved by the time the Cork man returned as assistant manager, but it is clear that Ireland still do not have the resources comparable to some of the top nations in the game.

That is something that is the case for many smaller countries, with Wales in a similar boat to Ireland.

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Keane and Bale bond over Ireland-Wales similarities

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Gareth Bale completely transformed the fortunes of the Welsh national team during his time as a player, leading them to a first major tournament in six decades at Euro 2016, as well as the World Cup in 2022.

His talent as a played had a big part to play in that, but so did a raising of standards away from the pitch. Gary Speed was the first one to demand such changes during his spell as Wales manager, something that continued under the coaches that followed.

It was a similar process to the one Roy Keane had hoped to implement with Ireland, something he and Bale bonded over on this week’s episode of Stick To Football.

Bale would reference Keane and his reputation for attempting to raise standards in the Ireland camp, with the pair going on to explain to their English counterparts how difficult that was when playing for smaller nations.

Bale: It was a tough time when I first came in… I’m sure it might have been similar with Ireland.

Keane: Absolutely, you’re spot on.

Bale: As much as I loved playing for my country and there’s no better thing, you go away sometimes and you’re coming Tottenham or Southampton where you have everything given to you. You go away with Wales and it’s not really (great)…

The biggest difference for Ireland and Wales, we don’t have the funds to give us everything, build a St George’s Park, we don’t have that kind of money. We have to actually play well to make money.

Keane: You want to see a bit of progress though don’t you?

Bale: Absolutely you do. But when you look back at it, we’re not the financial people, maybe they don’t have the money to do it and maybe the government would help. For us, clearly they did have the money because Gary Speed got it out of them and we started something…

Probably what you (Keane) were trying to do, Gary Speed did, got the money to at least give us some sort of foundation and give us something similar to what we have at our clubs…

Keane: Remember we were in dressing rooms with England lads and French lads, we would be hearing all that. We would be picking up all them vibes.

With Ireland and Wales, you’re not looking for perfection, but you want progress. It’s not alway about money. Sometimes it’s equipment and that’s not millions of pounds. They’re the challenges you face.

Those comments shocked fellow pundits Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, who suggested that England players were ‘given everything’ during their time in the national team camp.

Wales would experience major tournament success during Gareth Bale’s time with the team, while Roy Keane would also play a role in helping Ireland to an impressive showing at Euro 2016.

Both nations have clearly made strides off the pitch in the years since, although it remains to be seen how much success will be achieved on it over the coming seasons. Ireland and Wales are still in with a chance to qualify for this summer’s World Cup ahead of the play-offs later this month, something that would only aid further development moving forward.

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