Keane and Kerr get together
Although Kerr has been successful in his stated aim of keeping the exact time and place of the meeting a secret, rumours circulating yesterday had the two men meeting within 24 hours.
Kerr travelled to St Andrews last night to keep tabs not only on Keane and his Old Trafford team-mate John O’Shea, but also Birmingham’s Kenny Cunningham and Clinton Morrison.
It is understood that he met briefly with the players afterwards.
Keane responded favourably to Kerr’s request for a meeting this week, but FAI officials were unable to confirm if that meeting would take place within the next couple of days.
“As Brian said last week, he wants to deal with this matter in private. He doesn’t want the whole thing with Roy played out in public and we have to respect that,” said a spokesperson. “Obviously, while the matter remains unresolved, there will always be speculation, but Brian is eager to resolve it in private.”
Kerr’s sense of urgency in meeting with Keane increased after newspaper reports suggested Alex Ferguson was putting pressure on Keane to end his international career. The Old Trafford boss used the example of Alan Shearer as evidence that hanging up his international jersey would be of untold benefit to his captain.
“You only have to look at how Shearer benefited from not playing for England to see that it can help players of Roy’s age. I will sit down and discuss it with him, ultimately, the decision is Roy’s,” said Ferguson.
His sentiments have drawn an angry reaction from Irish football figures, with John Aldridge the latest to lambast the legendary manager. Aldridge said Ferguson was being extremely selfish in making the comments so near to Keane’s make-or-break meeting with Kerr.
“I can understand Alex’s argument,” said Aldo. “But, there’s a lot of life left in the old dog yet. Roy is only 31, remember. I played until I was 39 and I was involved in a World Cup at 36. I don’t see the problem.
“Roy might have four years left in him as an international and so the clever thing to do is to groom his successor in friendlies. By all means let Brian leave him out of friendlies. I would be very surprised if Brian hadn’t spoken to Roy already and at the very least, set up a meeting.
“After all, Roy is the main reason why the job was up for grabs in the first place. The new manager would have to make it a priority to meet Roy and lay the foundations of a possible return.”
Meanwhile, Kerr’s assistant manager Chris Hughton has asked that the Dubliner be left alone to sort out the Keane issue. “Brian is going to deal with it in the best way he can. And I am sure he will resolve the issue before long.”
Hughton says he was delighted to return to the Irish set-up , insisting he would do everything he could to help Ireland qualify for Euro 2004.
“Having played for 11 or 12 years with Ireland it is a great honour to be able to return in this different capacity,” Hughton told the FAI’s website. “My role will be to help and facilitate Brian in any way that I can. I am bringing 10 years of coaching experience with Tottenham Hotspur and five of those years have been with the first team.
“When Brian first spoke to me, I had to think about the commitment. Everyone at Tottenham has been very supportive. Glenn knows how much of an honour it is to be involved in representing your country and I will gain a lot from it that will benefit the club.”
Elsewhere, Shelbourne have ensnared the hottest property in the Eircom league, Jason Byrne.
The Bray Wanderers star was always likely to leave the Carlisle Grounds, following the club’s relegation to the first Division.
It is understood Shelbourne have agreed a 30,000 fee with Bray for Byrne, a first cousin of Robbie Keane, with the money going up if the under-21 international breaks into the Irish senior squad or moves across the water.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
