Roy hasn’t altered his approach
GARY NEVILLE reckons Roy Keane still delivers in the biggest games because he is just as fierce behind a mic as on the pitch.
The pair won six Premier League titles together as Manchester United teammates where Keane was his captain between 1997 and 2005.
Keane has caused a stir as a Sky Sports pundit since joining the broadcaster for the start of the 2019 season – but he still wants another shot at management.
For now he continues to shoot from the lip with Neville insisting his old team-mate is just as intimidating in a TV studio.
Ahead of today’s mouth watering top-of-the-table clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, Neville was asked if Keane has mellowed over time.
“Roy was fierce on the pitch and always wanted to win,” said Neville. “He wanted to set standards and was the most influential player on the football pitch that I ever played with, without a shadow of a doubt.
“By that I mean the influence he had on his other team-mates.
“Now, on TV, he’s equally as compelling, particularly in big moments because when they come around you want to hear what Roy Keane is going to say.
“And that’s how he was as a player – you wanted him in the big matches and central to the big moments in the season.”
Away from the spotlight the mask slips on Keane’s fearsome persona, as Neville knows only too well.
“I knew him as a player and off the pitch,” Neville continued. “He has been down to five or six of our Salford games this season and enjoys it.
“You saw him on the pitch, but off the pitch he’s compelling company, charming, funny, humorous and tells a story.
“But when he switches onto the screen or the pitch, he sees it as serious business and for me he hasn’t changed at all from when he was a player.”