Fergie urges Keane to take the Shearer route
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson will meet with Keane this week to advise him against an international return.
He believes the United skipper should concentrate on club football and reap the same benefits as Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer, who quit England after the European Championships two and a half years ago.
The United captain was impressive as United kept the pressure on Premiership leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win away to Southampton and showed no ill effects of his recent injury turmoil.
However, Kerr who had travelled to St Mary's stadium, did not see the game in person as he was refused entry to the ground by Saints' officials because he did not have a ticket.
"Mr Kerr applied for a ticket on Friday but by that stage all the seats in our directors' box had been sold out," a club spokesperson said.
Ferguson believes a combination of injury and age would place undue demands on Ireland's former skipper.
"People are assuming he is just going to go straight back into international football. But the situation is more complicated than that. I think the medical staff who look after Roy may be the key people in him reaching his decision.
"People forget Roy has just had a major operation at 31 years of age and has been out for four months.
"That is a crucial factor and I'll tell him that. Roy's hip problem is something we will have to keep an eye on, even though he's had the operation."
He said he plans to discuss the issue at length with his club captain over the coming weeks and will point to the exploits of former England skipper Alan Shearer to illustrate his point.
"I'll sit down with Roy and let him know what I think. But you only have to look at how Shearer has benefited from not playing for England to see it can help players of Roy's age.
"Shearer discovered that you can't please three parts of the football equation. Maybe Roy would be better just settling for two Manchester United and himself. However he stressed the final decision will be Keane's.
"But don't let anyone doubt his patriotism and his pride at having played for his country. Roy is an intelligent man and he'll make his own decisions."
Ironically, Southampton midfielder Matthew Oakley, who came head to head with Keane in their weekend tie, issued a warning to the Premiership title contenders that the Irish man is back to his best.
"I think I would be more frightened of Roy Keane if he was in the same team as me! He does not respect reputations among his team-mates.
"You can see why Alex Ferguson thinks so much of him. He is an extension of Ferguson out on the pitch. If the manager can't get his message across, he knows Keane will do it for him," the Southampton man said.
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