QUESTION TIME:

The full exchange

Last Sunday, two days after Ireland’s 0-1 Euro 2016 qualifier defeat to Scotland at Celtic Park, assistant manager Roy Keane faced the media at the team hotel in Portmarnock. Initially harmonious, it turned into one of the most combustible press conferences in Irish soccer history and our own Philip Quinn was at the heart of it...

QUINN: I wanted to ask this because it was touched upon earlier. I expect to get “the stare” but I’m going to ask it anyway. Martin [O’Neill] was asked before the match about the incident, and he said it was a distraction but he’d moved on. In the last six months, I’d like your thoughts on this, between the Celtic link, Villa link, book being published, and the incident last week….’

KEANE (INTERRUPTS): I’m not giving you any comment. Why would you think I have to give you an opinion on everything? Do you think you’ve a right to sit there and ask me anything you want, and get an answer? I think I’ve been more than fair with youse.

QUINN: You have [been fair]. But my point is Martin has been asked about distractions. Has he had enough of those distractions?

KEANE: What are you asking me for? What are you talking about? What distractions? Can I do anything about the Celtic stuff?

QUINN: Yeah, Celtic and Villa.

KEANE: Can I do anything about them things that come up? If I get approached about a job and I’m up front with the manager and the media, do you want me to….how is that a distraction? What can I do about that? You’re making out I’m bringing all these distractions on.

QUINN: So it’s just coincidence these things happen?

KEANE: Well, if a club approaches me, these things just happen yeah. How is the book….you think the book’s a distraction for a group of professional people? Do me a favour. And then people all writing about the incident the other night, lies… and people have got pals and talking to them. You think I’ve got to justify that to everyone? You all sit there and think I’ve got to answer to everything? Who in the hell do you think you are? I’ve got to answer to you?

QUINN: Not to everything, it’s a press conference.

KEANE: I answer to the FAI and Martin. And if we don’t get the right results, I’ll be gone and you won’t lose a minute’s sleep, so don’t worry about distractions. The things you write about are distractions.

QUINN: We write about but it was an obvious thing to write about. There was an incident so we had to write about it.

KEANE: Exactly. But you’re on about Celtic and Aston Villa. What do you want me to do about them? If Celtic approached me, what did you want me to say? You couldn’t get enough of it.

QUINN: I’m not denying that.

KEANE: So what can I do about the Celtic situation?

QUINN: I don’t know. Martin brought it into our attention...

KEANE: Incident. What other incidents? The book? Do you think the book was a distraction? The book. An agreement was made six months before it was out.

QUINN: Would you have liked your assistant manager to be bringing out a book before a match.

PETER SHERRARD (FAI Director of Communications): We’ll leave it there, thanks.

KEANE: You’ve asked Martin. What’s he said? You’re asking me what Martin O’Neill might think? I don’t know.

QUINN: I’m thinking has he had enough of these….. [distractions]?

KEANE: Go and ask him. Go and see him in the lobby. You’re not brave enough to ask him?

QUINN: I am brave enough to ask him. We’ll ask him. I don’t have access.

SHERRARD: You’ll see him tomorrow. You can ask tomorrow if you want.

KEANE: What are you asking me about what Martin O’Neill might be thinking? Why don’t you ask Martin? What if we qualified? Do you think it will be a distraction? Are you thinking it’s all a distraction from the result the other night?

QUINN: It was the build-up to the game for 24 hours. Everyone was talking about it?

KEANE: What was the problem with that?

QUINN: We were all talking about it.

KEANE: Talking about what? Talking about something you don’t have a clue about, and everyone writing lies. The usual nonsense. This happened, that happened… I’m turning down to...

PAUL LENNON (Irish Daily Star): You said you wouldn’t talk about Frank [Gillespie] and what happened the other night. Have you anything to say about it? KEANE: Frank? You know him?

LENNON: Yes.

KEANE: Of course you do. You know him well. You know Mick McCarthy well, don’t you? You know Frank well, don’t you? LENNON: Do you want to say anything about [the incident] the other night? Keane doesn’t respond to the question. The Ireland assistant manager gets up and leaves the room.

As he does, Quinn and Lennon thank him.

Keane pauses briefly and says: For what?

QUINN: ‘For your time.’