Keane blasts Babb after bust-up claim

ROY KEANE yesterday rounded on former Republic of Ireland teammate Phil Babb for claiming the Sunderland manager had been involved in a training-ground bust-up on the day false rumours circulated that he had quit Wearside.

On Sky Sports, ex-Sunderland defender Babb said Keane had been involved in a training-ground confrontation on the eve of last Saturday’s game at Blackburn.

But Keane hit back, saying: “You get people working for TV stations who say they know for a fact that there was a bust-up on the Friday. I wasn’t even at training on Friday, I was in Manchester at a meeting.

“If I start losing sleep over Phil Babb, I’m in trouble. A few years ago, Phil Babb was jumping on cars on a Monday morning in Dublin and I was captain of Ireland at the time.

“He was getting ripped to bits. I did the media that day and I got into trouble for saying, ‘He jumped on a car, what’s the big deal? Give the lad a break. He didn’t murder anyone, he didn’t rape anyone or deal drugs’.

“Babbsy is quick to come out with all sorts of stuff, but he’s paid by Sky.

“He was once part of the Three Amigos with Gary Kelly and Jason McAteer at the World Cup, wearing wigs for press conferences. We’re all different, thank God.

“I found it quite funny last Friday — it was absolutely crazy.’’

Meanwhile Keane has warned Irish and Scottish footballers they must clean up their lives if they are ever to match their counterparts from other countries.

The Corkman believes many Premier League footballers, and particularly those not in their teams, could be fitter, and is appalled that is the case.

Keane, who also played in Scotland with Celtic, is adamant that both his compatriots and players from north of the English border are putting themselves at a disadvantage because of their off-the-field habits.

His comments came after Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington expressed his concern at the fitness levels of members of his squad who are struggling to get regular football with their clubs, something which is a concern for Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni.

The Sunderland boss said: “The English lads don’t seem to be too bad — obviously, the French and the Spanish are good.

“But the players with the biggest problem in terms of changing their mentality are certainly the Irish and the Scottish players, because that’s the way they have been brought up.

“That’s the way I was brought up eating rubbish, drinking rubbish, so it is trying to change that mentality.

“You have to try to remind the players and provide these dieticians and speak to the players and eventually, you hope the penny will drop.

“You hope. Sometimes it doesn’t.

“I will go back to the game a few weeks ago, the United and Arsenal game.

“You have got to be able to sprint to people, you have got to play for 90 minutes.

“You can’t be tiring after 45, 50 minutes, not in the Premier League. You can’t do it.”

Meanwhile, Keane appeared to defend Arsenal skipper William Gallas’s right to free speech over his well-publicised outburst against his Arsenal teammates.

Keane’s Manchester United career came to an end in season 2005-06 after he spoke out against his colleagues in an MUTV interview that was never broadcast.

But Keane believes Gallas’s criticism may have a positive effect on the Gunners. He said: “He might have stirred them up. They were absolutely brilliant the other week against United.”