McAteer: Roy Keane persuaded Alex Ferguson not to axe him many times

Roy Keane’s one-time international teammate Jason McAteer believes the Corkman’s exit from Manchester United was down to a gradual breakdown of trust rather than any sudden fall-out with Alex Ferguson.

McAteer suggests Ferguson agonised over the Keane departure more than he would have done for any other player. Interviewed in ‘Men in White Suits’, a new book about Liverpool in the 1990s, McAteer reveals that he discussed the Keane situation in a long chat with Ferguson’s assistant Mike Phelan.

McAteer says: “He told me that with Fergie, if he watched a game and a player lost the ball and then found it really difficult to get back in position, Fergie would turn around and go: he’s finished, lost his engine. He’d then try to get the player out of the club.”

According to McAteer, Ferguson had several of those Eureka moments with Keane, but either changed his mind or was talked round by the player.

“With Roy, Roy was forever telling him it was a one-off — he’d had a bad night’s sleep and he was tired for that game. Fergie gave Roy more chances than other players. But once the seed was planted, Fergie would never change his mind.

“You’ve got to be honest with yourself. Roy was such a brilliant player in such a crucial position, any slip in standard would have been felt like an avalanche.What he offered was of such a high standard that when he was on the way down, it became easier to spot. But I don’t think Fergie knew how to handle a Roy Keane in decline. Roy is a difficult person to deal with. You never know what he’s thinking.”

The book, by sportswriter Simon Hughes, analyses the Liverpool set-up of McAteer’s era; a group of players tagged the ‘Spice Boys’ and often portrayed as under-achievers, perceptions cemented by the eye-catching suits the squad wore ahead of defeat in the 1996 FA Cup final.

Hughes suggests Keane would have been just the player to take Liverpool to the next level, but McAteer isn’t so sure.

“Roy only developed that reputation when he got to Man United — that winning mentality. At Forest before, he never gave up and that’s why United bought him. But just because a certain attitude was good for United and worked for United doesn’t mean it was nailed on for success elsewhere.”

After several high-profile run-ins with Keane over the years, McAteer has clearly given much thought to his old sparring partner’s character and some considered views bely his own reputation as the empty vessel of the Liverpool and Ireland set-ups.

McAteer admires the approach Keane has taken in his broadcasting career: “A lot of pundits say something out there just to be controversial when they don’t believe it. I think people like Roy because what he says is very believable. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says and where Roy lets himself down is when he forgets that his is just another opinion at the end of the day.”

Of playing alongside Keane for Ireland, McAteer notes: “Socially, he never added anything. But on the pitch, he was phenomenal.” He revisits the Saipan saga and felt the spirit in the Ireland set-up would have overcome Keane’s concerns about the preparations.

“In relative terms, Ireland achieved great things… Look at England and all the money they had, achieving nothing. The kit turned up three days late but nobody cared because we had something else: a bond. That’d see us through.”

But when it comes to his relationship with Keane now, or lack of one, McAteer finds some common ground.

“Loyalty and honesty — that’s Roy. He’s like me in that respect. I feel really let down if I don’t get that back from people I respect: family, friends, teammates. I struggle to get over it.”