Best trophy is next one, says Keane

AS Manchester United’s players filed into the plush new dressingrooms at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon, they could congratulate themselves on a job well done.

They had sweated off a few pounds with an intense training session in the North American humidity, provided some fine entertainment and even lingered to sign autographs.

Some were under the shower faster than others, but Rio Ferdinand stayed behind to please the youngsters who adore him.

But long after even he returned, one of their number was still missing, following up his impromptu kickabout with some lucky schoolchildren by wandering over to the touchline to sign every garment, programme and scrap of paper thrust towards him. He was out so long, medical staff arranged for water to be taken out to prevent dehydration.

In normal dressingrooms, the slowcoach would have been barracked and castigated for keeping his teammates waiting. Not this time though. Not when the man in question is Roy Keane.

Just as his old drinking buddies Robson, Cantona and Ince did before him, Keane enjoys unquestioned authority among the team. If anyone had a grumble over his late arrival, they kept it to themselves.

For the man himself, it is just another day at the office. Here is someone who takes the responsibilities of the job very seriously and we're not just talking about interaction with fans.

Within 48 hours of Arsenal handing over the Premiership title last May, a gaggle of Red Devils were presented to the club's in-house station MUTV to salivate over the recapture of a trophy which some fans now believe to be theirs by right.

Only Keane had the presence of mind to look forward, insisting "the best trophy is the next one".

And that's why, no matter what the ravages of time have done to his body, and no matter what competition is provided for his first-team shirt, Keane's influence over Manchester United remains unquestioned.

"The drive is still there, without a doubt," he said with a smile, when asked whether his determination going into the new season is as great as it has always been.

"You have to look forward, keep looking ahead. We have to keep performing because we want that European Cup."

Famously, the legacy of Keane's finest hour in a United shirt was his absence from the 1999 classic with Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

The swashbuckling performance he produced in the second leg of the semi-final against Juventus, when he single-handedly dragged his team back from a two-goal deficit, will be remembered as one of the greatest individual displays ever seen.

There is no room for regret in the Keane canon. Not for his many disciplinary scrapes, not for the operations, and certainly not for the return from last year's World Cup after rowing with Mick McCarthy.

All that matters to Keane, aside from his immediate family, is the desire to win football matches.

It was evident throughout the US tour and it will be there again at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

But more obviously, that insatiable hunger will be coursing through his veins on August 16, when United begin the defence of their championship crown against Bolton.

His team-mates spent last weekend telling the world how much they had enjoyed being in the States, and how good it felt to beat Juventus, Barcelona and Celtic. But for Keane, once the final whistle goes, the focus is ahead, not behind.

"We have played decent opposition and we have had decent results, but the main business starts on August 16 against Bolton," he said.

"The manager has brought in a couple of players, which has increased competition in central midfield, but that's a good thing. No-one should be guaranteed a place at United."

And now the obituaries are being penned and Keane is being billed as yesterday's man. The case is still to be proved but just like in the United dressingroom on Saturday though, I bet no-one has told him to his face.