Paul Green's brave header gave the Republic of Ireland the lead

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane believes his side's 3-0 win over Algeria could prove a launching pad for a successful Euro 2012 campaign.

Keane netted twice, one a penalty, to add to Paul Green's first-half header for a win which follows on from Tuesday's success against Paraguay.

"It has been a good week. It is always good to get results," said Keane.

"We were not here as warm-up boys for Algeria and Paraguay. We want to be focused for the new campaign."

Keane, who now has 43 international goals, refused to speculate on how their African opponents would fare against England in the World Cup in South Africa.

"I am not bothered about Algeria or England," he said. "I am just bothered about Ireland, as I said we are not here to be the warm-up boys for anybody."

Midfielder Liam Lawrence agreed that the week would stand Giovanni Trapattoni's side in good stead come September.

He said: "We have done fantastically this week and we have beaten two teams who are going to the World Cup.

"We spoke about the Euro 2012 qualifiers in the week and we want to put the past behind us and move on."

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