Keane: I regret nothing

Roy Keane claims he has little to regret after an eventful 12 months both on and off the pitch.

He last week ended an extraordinary year on a high by claiming his seventh Premiership title.

Yet it was not always sweetness and light in a year which has seen him ejected from the World Cup squad, sent off at Sunderland after a clash with Jason McAteer, undergo surgery and write a controversial autobiography.

Keane feels there is little that could have been done about any of the issues which have dogged him and has no qualms about the way he handled them.

He told the Daily Mail: “There wasn’t much I could do to avoid any of it. I had agreed to do the book. I still believe I was 100% right about the World Cup. The surgery was something I needed to have done and the sending off? Well, Jason McAteer would annoy anyone.”

Keane’s book stirred controversy, not least because of references to a tackle on Manchester City’s Alf Inge Haaland, an issue which landed him a five-match ban from the Football Association.

He added: “I could have left bits out, the drinking stories, getting into trouble, the crazy things, the stupid things, but I would have felt guilty.

“Too many books have bored me to tears. You don’t have to give every detail, but I wanted to offer some insight into what football is really about.”

Keane missed a chunk of the season due to an operation to deal with hip trouble, an ongoing problem he accepts he will now have to live with and which prompted his retirement from international football.

“There’s no doubt I’m doing myself damage,” he added. “The surgeon will tell you that. But I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that would be that anyway.

“There’s going to be a downside to it, especially when you’ve had injuries, but I know big Paul McGrath and I see how he struggles with his knees. He’ll tell you he wouldn’t change anything.

“If I have to limp around I’ll get a walking stick, and my wife has said she’ll push me around if I need a wheelchair.”