Manchester United icon Roy Keane, who has been tipped to return to the club, made his feelings clear to the squad in person following an invite from the head coach
Roy Keane didn’t hold back when he made a secret visit to address the Manchester United squad.
The Irishman, who has recently been tipped to return to the club to assist Ruben Amorim by former team-mate Mikael Silvestre, visited Carrington back in 2019 during friend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign. Keane was one of several ex-United stars who Solskjaer invited back in an attempt to inspire and galvanise his young squad.
The Sky Sports pundit was typically candid. He reminded the players what it meant to play for United and the sacrifices needed to bring success to Old Trafford as the club adjusted in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. While the visit was regarded as a success, Keane was left unimpressed with the attitude of one unnamed player.
A source told Mirror Football at the time: “As you’d imagine, Roy has strong views on what it takes to be a proper United player, and he gave it to them straight.
“He wasn’t impressed with one player who didn’t seem to be all that interested and looked as if he’d rather be somewhere else. But for the majority, it was a fascinating snapshot into the hunger and desire that drove Roy during his time at the club.”
Despite producing top-three finishes in both his full seasons in charge, Solskjaer’s trophy-less reign was regarded as a failure when he was sacked early in the 2021/22 season.
However, they were heady days compared to United’s current travails. Amorim’s side are languishing down in 14th in the Premier League and are out of both domestic cup competitions.
It has led to regular tirades from Keane and Sky Sports colleague Gary Neville about the club’s overall state, with Keane recently ripping into captain Bruno Fernandes’ leadership of the team. But another ex-United player believes Keane, 53, would be a wise addition to Amorim’s coaching team.
“I think it would be great for Roy Keane to play a role at Manchester United,” ex-defender Silvestre told Yaysweepstakes.com. “Because, the thing is with Roy, he always treated everybody exactly the same way. It didn’t matter if you were a new signing, an old guy, the manager, everybody.
“That’s how he got respect. That’s how Sir Alex got respect. If you treat everybody the same, no problem. Now, it’s true you have players, and as soon as you say something to them, they don’t collapse, but it affects them much more. We used to have thicker skin.
“I saw Joshua Zirkzee apologising on social media about missing his penalty against Fulham. So you missed a penalty – you didn’t kill anybody! There is no need for that. Plus, he had a good game, so don’t blame yourself, it happens.
“I can remember when Paul Scholes missed a penalty in the FA Cup final [in 2005] and we lost to Arsenal. He was one of the best players of his generation, but he didn’t apologise because that can happen in professional sport. You have to accept it and bounce back.
“I think it’s a bit of a problem with this generation of players. They find criticism harder to take. If Roy Keane was involved at Manchester United, if he was on the inside with the group, he would have to protect and work for the group. You wouldn’t see him criticising players in public, so there wouldn’t be any issue.”
United are preparing to face Real Sociedad away in their Europa League round of 16 first leg on Thursday. The competition is the club’s last remaining chance to salvage a trophy – and qualify for Europe next term – from their troubled season.
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
