'I'll be fair': Roy Keane insists he has no bias against Man United in punditry

Roy Keane has joked that Chelsea lodged an appeal to allow Harry Maguire play against them today - then insisted all his critiques are fair

I CALL IT LIKE I SEE IT: Roy Keane on punditry duty for ITV

Roy Keane has joked that Chelsea lodged an appeal to allow Harry Maguire play against them today.

The Manchester United captain is suspended for the Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge after being red carded in last week’s 4-1 defeat at Watford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final game before being sacked.

Former United skipper Keane has been critical of Maguire’s performance, on and off the pitch, but insists he’ll deliver praise from his punditry chair when it’s warranted. The same applies to Fred, the midfielder he was perplexed Solskjaer persisted with.

“When I go to a match, I’ll be fair with people,” Keane said about his work for Sky Sports and ITV.

“Nobody has to tell me how hard it is. I’ve been there and it’s hard to win matches at the top level. I never took the game easy in my life.

“But it frustrates me when I see players making the same mistakes over and over again, whether it be Fred, Maguire or these people. There’s players at Manchester United going through the motions and slacking off.

“If I’m doing a game next week and Maguire or Fred played well, I’d be quite happy to give them credit. No problem.” Asked about Maguire's absence for United today, Keane quipped: “Yeah, I think Chelsea appealed that one.” Keane says he had no bias for or against the club he spent 13 years at, the most successful stretch in the club’s history.

But he’s adamant United – soon to be led, at least temporarily, by incoming boss Ralf Rangnick – need to avoid slipping further behind their runaway rivals.

“I’ve no agenda with Manchester United,” he affirmed. “What I try to do is turn up on time, respect the people I work with, give my opinion and I go home.

“One of the biggest problems for Manchester United is that Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are three strong teams. One of those might go through a bad spell but they’ve to catch those three.

“Momentum is huge in sport. You can get it going upwards but always the other way and United just have to try to stop the rot. They’ve to hang in there, they’re through the knockout stages of the Champions League – not saying they’re going to win it – but things can change quickly.”

- Roy Keane was speaking at a fundraiser for Kerry Hospice held in Tralee. For more information on contribute, click here