Keane’s mixed feelings for Blues boss Mourinho

It’s fair to say that Keano is somewhat conflicted about ‘The Special One’.

The guest of honour at the launch in UCC of Cork City’s new patronage scheme, Roy Keane was asked his opinion of Jose Mourinho — and his reply was the verbal equivalent of a game of two halves.

“His CV tells you he’s a top, top coach,” he began. “I don’t know, there are some managers that I would say I’d have loved to have played under. He’s probably not one of them who is top of my list.”

Pressed as to why, Ireland’s assistant manager went on: “I’m not sure, I’m not sure. He’s not top of my list. But I could be wrong.

“A lot of players who played under him speak very highly of him. His record is absolutely fantastic and when you watch him, particularly in the Champions League, his record is fantastic.

“And when you go back to [the question of] luck, he’s made the most of it, he’s built on that. That’s why you look at his current Chelsea team, a counterattacking team, a creative team, some good characters down the spine of the team. He knows how to win the big games.”

By now, it was becoming clear that Keane was having second thoughts about the Chelsea manager.

“When I say I wouldn’t like to play under him, I’m not being disrespectful,” he mused.

“He obviously plays the game a lot with the media...”

And then came the complete turnaround. “You know what? Maybe I would have enjoyed playing under him,” laughed Keane. “I’ve changed my mind.”

Keane also said that, while Chelsea — who face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals — would not be considered the favourites to win the Champions League, this year, he wouldn’t be writing them off.

“The strongest teams at the moment are Bayern, who are fantastic, while the Spanish league is pretty decent,” he said.

“I think the English clubs have slipped a little bit behind. PSG, in fairness, are also very good while Atletico Madrid are outstanding.

“But I would not be writing off Chelsea. Chelsea have the habit of winning the big matches and they have big characters.

“People have criticised John Terry over the years but I have watched them live many times and they win the big matches.”