Irish Daily Mirror

Heroes say it’s time for Roy to go after bust-up

- BY MARK MCDOUGALL

IRELAND legend Liam Brady has called for the FAI to sack

Roy Keane after his role in a bust-up with Harry Arter.

He told Eamon Dunphy’s The Stand podcast: “The thing that strikes me about Roy Keane and it has for many years now, is that I don’t think he likes football and I don’t think he likes players.

“When you hear him speak about football in his punditry role, it comes across that he doesn’t like modern-day footballer­s.

“I think this thing is boiling inside of him.

“He’s damaging a squad that’s weak in many ways anyway and we can’t afford to lose any players.”

“Every time there is an Irish game there was a story about Roy

Keane, whether he was having a go at somebody or whether he was launching another book of his.

“I can’t even understand how Martin O’neill could put up with that. He’s got an internatio­nal match and Roy Keane decides to launch his book the week of an internatio­nal game.

“It’s crazy, it’s mind-boggling and it’s really taking the p**s, isn’t it? It really is taking the p**s out of the Irish soccer team.

“Martin O’neill, or the powers that be, John Delaney, has to say enough of this. This has got to stop.”

Johnny Giles, also on the podcast, said: “Players who are injured, unless they are really kidding on, need a lot of sympathy and a lot of help.

“We’ve all been injured as footballer­s and there is nothing worse than being injured and you can’t play.

“In Arter’s case, if Martin O’neill felt he was kidding on then he shouldn’t be picked. If they feel that he’s not, then he needs support.

“Morale in a football team is very fragile and the rest of the players would have known exactly what happened and that doesn’t help the spirit of the team.

“This is wrong, whatever way you look at it, it’s wrong

“As assistant manager he should be helping Martin and in the Arter case he hasn’t helped him at all. In fact, Arter has said he doesn’t want to play, That’s being destructiv­e.

“If you talk about being equipped to be an assistant manager? Definitely not.”

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