Keane unmoved as he wades back into Saipan debate

As one chapter in the Roy Keane story ends and another looms, the Cork man has illustrated in his latest interview none of his trademark tenacity is receding with age.

Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine, Keane covers a range of topics from Mick McCarthy, his legacy at Manchester United to incorporating lessons learned from his managerial career so far into the next stab at taking the helm for club or country should it arise.

As revealed in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, the former United captain has tabled a conditional invite to his nemesis Alex Ferguson for peace talks but doesn’t spare the Scot by suggesting double-standards were at play in jettisoning David Beckham.

Mistakes on his own behalf are acknowledged too, most notably for the incident 15 years ago that led to his suspension for the Uefa Champions League final while, having walked the managerial line since, there’s a level of empathy reserved for Kenny Dalglish upon ditching him at the altar in favour of United’s cooing in 1993.

One subject he’s unmoved on, however, is the most infamous of his career. Saipan during May 2002 hosted Ireland’s biggest ever sporting moment and Keane’s stance on his departure from the squad so close to the World Cup remains such that recent musings from his team-mates are tackled.

“I think I played in every qualifier for that World Cup (he actually missed two of 12),” the 43-year-old outlined.

“Last week, Kevin Kilbane said he and other players weren’t sure if I wanted to be there. Where did I want to be, then? I’d worked really hard to be there. I wasn’t looking for trouble. Why would I travel all the way to Saipan and think: ‘You know what, I’m going to have a big argument tonight and fly home tomorrow’. That would be a great plan!

“I didn’t start any argument; the manager did and I defended myself so we came to blows. It would have been difficult to sit there and not defend myself. That is all I was doing

“I’m pretty sure if the same situation happened tomorrow, and the manager stood up in front of everybody making accusations about me, then, let me tell you, I wouldn’t just sit there. Whatever the consequences are, so be it.”

Plenty more flashes of the anger that descended upon him in Saipan 12 years ago have been replicated since and, while his absence from the pitch have reduced their frequency, Keane doesn’t rue that streak in him.

He explained: “It’s not a bad thing to have some anger and a bit of a temper. To be fair, I’m not really in situations where I need to worry about that. The few incidents when I was playing were in acts of self-defence, in a strange kind of way.

“It’s good to keep it in there in the background. I don’t go around looking for trouble but you have to be ready for it.”

Jesper Blomqvist can attest to Keane’s red mist. In 1999, the Swede’s sloppy pass in Juventus was the catalyst for his captain incurring a booking that would rule him out of the biggest game in his career. Though Keane let Blomqvist have it on the pitch, he’s turned the tank’s aim inwards with the benefit of retrospection.

“My reaction when getting that yellow card was ‘oh, fuck’. I blamed Jesper for the pass that led to me making the foul because it could have been better.

“I think Jesper has said I should have controlled it better. And, you know what, he’s right, to be honest about it.”

Similar respect for his United colleagues is apparent throughout this latest offering, even dismissing Beckham’s celebrity lifestyle as justification for Ferguson offloading him to Real Madrid in 2003. Keane hints the manager wasn’t strongly positioned to lecture others when he was immersed in his own external issues surrounding the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ episode.

“I don’t think I saw David once taking his eye off the ball in training or matches,” reasoned Keane.

“The manager thought that, which was what led to him leaving United. However, it was okay for the manager to get distracted by other stuff. Strange.”

As for his own managerial ambitions, despite the Ireland assistant boss being loathe to alter his style, a greater eye to detail in the transfer market is a must.

“People look at the end product because I fell out with the Sunderland owner and then it didn’t go well at Ipswich,” he reflects on his two spells in the hotseat.

“I would need better recruitment because that ultimately makes or breaks you. It probably cost me my job at Ipswich.

“But I wouldn’t change my man-management. When you have 20 players under you, then you’re going to have disagreements, which is no bad thing.”

Meanwhile, Keane and his ghost-writer Roddy Doyle will visit Eason on Patrick Street, Cork next Tuesday from 12pm-2.30pm to sign copies of his autobiography, The Second Half. Due to time restrictions, the queue will be limited to 300, a maximum of three books per person.