COULD KEANE TURN THE BHOYS INTO MEN?
TEN years after he was sacked at Ipswich, then 19th in the Championship, Roy Keane has let it be known he’s up for a return to management. In his 50th year, Keane is prepared to dip into the shark-infested waters of ‘gaffer’ territory again. Could it be he’s had enough of punditry? That perhaps the chumminess of Micah Richards has begun to muzzle Keane who isn’t as waspish on Sky Sports as he used to be? If Keane is serious about going back into management, he can’t be choosy, not with his moth-balled CV. He’s Roy Keane, the famous footballer, not Roy Keane, the famous manager. One promotion with Sunderland doesn’t make him a Guardiola, Klopp or Mourinho. He’s not going to walk into a Premier League gig... at best, some Championship club may take a punt. More likely, there will be interest from the lower two divisions in England. There was a time when he was in a prime position to manage Ireland. But for the endgame to the illfated 2018 World Cup campaign, and the ‘bustups’ with players, it might have come to pass. Maybe another team in green and white will come calling. Celtic are unlikely to keep faith with Neil Lennon at the end of a season that will see Rangers crowned as runaway champions. Dermot Desmond will need a big name to appease the Parkhead faithful and there are few bigger than Keane, who won the league with Celtic on one good hip as he wound down his career in 2006. A paradise, once lost, may find Keano again.