Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill bowled over by NFL

We knew about the Nottingham Forest, Celtic, and Sunderland connection but, now, on Super Bowl weekend, comes confirmation that Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill have something else in common — a passion for gridiron.

Speaking at a charity event in Armagh about his personal and professional relationship with the Ireland manager, Keane said: “I feel very lucky to be working with Martin.

“I love what I am doing now and enjoy working with Martin and the players.

“I do not take it for granted that I’m working with good people like Martin.

“There are strong connections with me and Martin.

“We worked with Brian Clough when we were players at Nottingham Forest, we have connections with Celtic and Sunderland and we both like American football.

“We get on really well together and you can’t put a price on that. It is massive to me.”

Looking ahead to Euro 2016, Keane acknowledged that both the Republic and Northern Ireland face a testing challenge in France.

“Like us, they are in a tough group,” he said, “but they will go there with spirit and momentum and it looks like the players are right behind the manager.”

Meanwhile, the former Manchester United captain reportedly took issue with the at times toxic atmosphere in Old Trafford this season, saying he could not believe that true United fans would boo their own team.