Keane returns - Expect his usual passion

Roy Keane brings a passion to whatever he does, which explains why such interest surrounds him.

As a player he was a driving force in one of Europe’s most successful teams and he played under two of the most successful British managers of the past 40 years — Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson.

Inevitably people wonder whether he can translate what he learned from them into his own style of management. Great footballers rarely seem to make great managers, but it is much too early to come to any definite conclusions about Keane as a manager.

His first stint in management was not an unqualified success, but neither was it a failure. He took over a Sunderland team that was dead last in the Championship, but by the end of the season it had won the league and secured promotion to the Premiership.

He goes to a club that arguably had the most successful manager ever in British football. Alf Ramsay took over Ipswich in the lowest division of the English Football League in 1955. He brought the team all the way to the top flight and in 1962 Ipswich caused a sensation by winning the Football League. He then went on to manage the England national team to World Cup success in 1966.

Roy Keane will undoubtedly tackle the job with his usual passion. We wish him well and look forward to him achieving the promise on the sideline that he fulfilled on the field.