Roy Keane has not been a manager since leaving Ipswich Town in 2011 to focus on a career as a pundit, but the Manchester United icon has not ruled out a return to the dugout.
Former Manchester United midfielder Bryan Robson has spoken out about the possibility of Roy Keane returning as manager. Keane hasn’t ruled out a return to the dugout, but he seems happy in his current role as a pundit.
The 54-year-old often appears on Sky Sports’ Premier League broadcasts, ITV Sport’s England matches, and often appears on Gary Neville’s Overlap podcast. Keane recently revealed he had been considered for the Republic of Ireland manager’s post before Heimir Hallgrimsson took over.
The former Nottingham Forest player was an assistant coach in the Irish team from 2013 to 2018 under Martin O’Neill, who is currently interim Celtic manager.
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Robson gave his thoughts on the possibility of former Ipswich Town and Sunderland manager Keane becoming Ireland manager, reuniting him with former United defender and current Ireland assistant manager John O’Shea. He said the job was fascinating and hinted that the scenario might eventually become a reality.
Mr Robson, via Grosvenor Casino, said: “Roy is a decisive character and if he wanted to return to management I’m sure the Republic of Ireland would look at him because he knows the game and has a wealth of experience.”
“The only thing I can say about the Republic of Ireland at the moment is that when we played against them they had a lot of really good players. They have some decent players at the moment, but force-wise they’re not a very strong team.”
“So if Roy were to go back into that management it would be a tough job. That being said, John O’Shea is still there so if Roy can work with John O’Shea, that could be an option.”
Despite this, O’Neill, who previously worked with Keane at Nottingham Forest, has expressed doubts about the Manchester United legend taking on the Ireland international job.
When asked about Keane being the next Republic of Ireland manager, he told OLBG: “I would highly doubt it.”
“But as I get older, it seems like he’s enjoying life, but he’s all about work and advertising on TV and things like this.
“So he’s probably not thinking about being a manager. But if he’s not thinking about being a manager, what if he asked me to accompany him as an assistant, mainly to smoke a few cigarettes… or as his chief scout living in southern Italy.”
“Yes, I’ll take it. I’ll take it all day long.”
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