Manchester United legend Roy Keane showed a different side to his on-screen persona and no-nonsense personality after his meaningful interactions with one Sunderland staff member.
That is according to former Sunderland striker Chris Brown, who played under ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane during his time at the Stadium of Light.
Roy Keane wasted no time in taking his first steps into management after he called it time on his legendary playing career in 2006 following a brief spell with Celtic.
The 53-year-old Irishman was appointed Sunderland head coach in 2006 and secured the club’s promotion to the Premier League in his first season.
Keane’s Sunderland side lifted the Championship title at the end of the 2006-07 season before the Black Cats’ return to England’s top-flight league.
Sunderland finished 15th in the Premier League table under Keane in the 2007-08 season before the United legend’s stint at the club unravelled.
Keane would make his exit from the Stadium of Light after 27 months in charge in 2008, with the Irish hardman resigning from his role as head coach of Sunderland.
Brown on Keane and Sunderland
Roy Keane oversaw five defeats in six matches in the 2007-08 season and Sunderland were 18th in the league at the time he walked away from his post.
Chris Brown recalled his interaction with one woman who would be looking after people in the players’ lounge at Sunderland when he returned to the club.
The 39-year-old former Sunderland player revealed that the woman told him that Keane was her favourite Black Cats boss after the Irishman’s impact on her.
According to Brown, the Sunderland staff member told him that Keane would always speak with her every time during home matches and even handed her a “bit of pocket money.”
Speaking on Under The Cosh (via the Sunderland Echo), he said: “I went back to Sunderland, probably two years ago.
“And I was speaking to the woman, there’s always a woman in the players’ lounge that does the drinks, does the food and all that.
“And I just said, ‘Who has been your favourite manager?’ She said, ‘Without a shadow of a doubt Roy Keane.’
“Every home game, he used to come up, everyone had gone, and he used to come up and ask how she was and he’d give her a bit of pocket money to go away with.
“He didn’t have to do that, did he? Not many managers would go out of their way and just go and have a bit of chat with the tea lady in the players’ lounge and every week he would give her some money.”
Keane on his Sunderland spell
Keane went on to manage Ipswich Town in 2009 before his ill-fated spell with the club came to an end in 2011 after his sacking.
The legendary former United captain later served as assistant manager for the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Keane has been out of the dugout since his managerial spell with Ipswich Town ended, but the United legend has flirted with the idea of returning to coaching.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he previously said: “Obviously, it’s not easy but when I went into management Sunderland were second-bottom of the Championship, but Sunderland was a great club for me.
“Could have done better at Ipswich but there was plusses at Ipswich. I think there’s something in there where I think I could be a good manager and it’s pulling me back in.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/UlmAqxS