Tottenham striker Robbie Keane believes the Republic of Ireland have a great chance of qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine.

The 30-year-old is still fuming with the injustice of his country's exit from the World Cup when France benefited from Thierry Henry's infamous handball during the second leg of their play-off clash.

The Republic kick off their qualification campaign with a match against Armenia on Friday night, and Keane said:"The players have confidence in each other and the new players have come in and adapted to each other.

"With the experience we have now, of course it is only going to make you a better team. The more experience you have, the better you are and hopefully the experience we had in the last campaign will stand us in good stead for this one.

"It was great to get the 100th cap (last month), but personally I am delighted that's gone now, just to get it over with and concentrate on the rest of the games.

"As captain, of course it would be an honour to lead your team out and we certainly have a good chance.

"We had a great chance in the last campaign - obviously, we just missed out, but hopefully that will make us stronger and more determined now to qualify.

"The most important thing is not to lose (against Armenia). It's the first game and, of course, you want to win every game you are involved in, and that will be the case.

"We are not going to come here looking to get a draw. We want to win the game. But the most important thing is certainly not to lose the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email