MANAGER Alex McLeish has challenged Robbie Keane to have the ‘Henry effect’ on his long-awaited Villa debut against Everton this weekend.

Thierry Henry rolled back the years with Arsenal’s winner against Leeds on Monday night to set up an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Villa at the end of the month.

The Gunners legend is on a two-month loan from New York Red Bulls in a similar arrangement to Keane’s temporary move to Villa from Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.

And McLeish would love to see Keane provide the same sort of spark for the claret and blues against the Toffees at Villa Park on Saturday.

“It would lift the place,” he said. “Believe me, it’s not all doom and gloom here, this is a healthy training camp with positive vibes.

“But I saw Thierry Henry’s goal the other night, brilliant live on the TV, a fantastic moment, regardless of which team you support – unless you’re a Spurs fan.

“I thought ‘pwooph’, that would be good if Robbie can make that kind of impact – so no pressure Robbie.

“He trained Monday and yesterday and looked very sharp. He got involved in all the action and scored a couple of goals.”