United shock as Keane reveals exit plans

ROY KEANE has stunned Manchester United by revealing he expects to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.

The Irishman’s contract is due to expire in the summer and it was widely assumed he would be given at least an extra year, possibly to combine playing duties with a coaching role.

However, in a live MUTV phone-in, Keane has rejected any likelihood of moving straight onto Alex Ferguson’s backroom staff and feels it will be the end of the season before United chief executive David Gill decides whether the 34-year-old will be handed an extension, by which time it will be too late.

“I would like to play another year or two but I do not think it will be at Manchester United,” he said.

“I would be surprised if I was offered a new contract and even if I was, I would not expect it to be until the end of the season but by then I will have already made a decision about what I am going to do. There comes a time for everybody when they have to move on and I am prepared to play elsewhere.

“I think it will be good to experience a different dressing room. It wouldn’t be an English team though, coming back to Old Trafford and going into the away dressing room would be too hard for me to stomach.”

The last statement is bound to alert Celtic, as Keane has made no secret of his desire to play for the Parkhead club at some stage in his career.

Although he is currently sidelined with a broken foot, the prospect of United without Keane is virtually unthinkable.

Keane’s departure has also been anticipated within the United hierarchy. One senior Old Trafford official confided in private recently that the player may move away, before eventually returning to join the coaching staff.

“I am not putting a gun to anybody’s head,” said Keane.

“But my gut reaction last season was this would be my last year and I still feel that way. You have to learn and be prepared to move on.

“Life will not stop when I leave Manchester United. It might be an opportunity to go into management or coaching somewhere else and it is best to make a clean break because coaching at Manchester United doesn’t really appeal.”

Keane has made no secret of his desire to follow former Red Devils’ skippers Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson into management and intends to complete his UEFA coaching badges over the next few months.

But interested lower league clubs who feel they may be able to attract the most influential domestic player of his generation might be advised to look elsewhere.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead because I want to play on for a bit yet but I wouldn’t want to drop too far down,” he said.

Meanwhile, Keane said his international future would be thrashed out with Ireland coach Brian Kerr if his country failed to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.

His current injury rules him out of next month’s double-header with Cyprus and Switzerland and also possibly any play-off should the Republic secure second spot in their group.

“I still think we have a chance to qualify,” he said. “If we don’t, we will I have to talk to Brian and see what happens but I don’t want to cross that bridge before I get to it.”