It’s not difficult to find highlights across Roy Keane’s decorated playing career.
The Ireland legend stands as one of the greatest players in Premier League history, and his trophy cabinet rivals any of the league’s greats over the past 30 years.
A seven-time Premier League winner – four times as captain – Keane was a lynchpin in midfield during the golden era of Alex Ferguson’s United side in the 1990s and early 2000s.
At international level, Keane was a core member of the Ireland squad which beat Italy at USA ’94. Although Saipan casts a cloud over his time with the national team, he remains one of the finest players ever to pull on a green jersey.
You would be hard-pressed to pick a standout moment from such a remarkable list – which made it all the more surprising on this week’s ‘Overlap’ when Keane chose his six-year spell coaching the Irish team with Martin O’Neill as the “highlight” of his career.
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Roy Keane says Ireland coaching spell was “highlight” of his career
Between 2013 and 2019, Roy Keane served as assistant manager of Ireland, with Martin O’Neill above him as manager. It was to be a largely successful partnership, with the pair not only guiding Ireland to Euro 2016 but masterminding a famous win over Italy to reach the last 16.
The pair were reunited on this week’s episode of Stick to Football with Sky Bet, and reminisced on their six years working together with Ireland.
As Keane looked back on his spell in international management, he said that it stood above his other coaching work with Sunderland, Ipswich, and Nottingham Forest.
The Corkonian then made the shock admission that the experience of coaching his national team and bringing them to Euro 2016 was likely the “highlight” of his decorated career.
When I went into work with Martin at international football…I think the fact that I’d been a manager previously was a big help for me. Not in an ego way of, ‘Oh, I’m used to it’ – obviously, I’d huge respect for Martin, I’d met him a couple of times. Going in knowing the manager and knowing the boundaries, I found that easy.
I was fine with [not having the final say]. There were other managers I might have been…whatever. But because of what Martin had done in the game, the few conversations we had with the other staff members, we all got on great. We had a decent group with Ireland, it was competing.
You’d have chats about players in the squad but as soon as Martin made the final decision, it was done. The good thing for all of us, we all felt Martin – whether he was or not! – was listening to us, even if he had to go another way. Having previously been a manager, I got that.
I go back throughout my career, my experience with Ireland with Martin and going to the Euros…it was probably the highlight of my career. Which sounds bizarre but…we always talk about playing, love playing, but our time with Ireland was probably the highlight.
I just loved everything about it, the dynamics, the energy of the group, working with Martin and the other staff members. We had something going on there, there was a feel-good factor.
It was surprising even to Martin O’Neill sitting beside Roy Keane.
“It’s extraordinary for you to say that,” O’Neill said in response, “For the medals that you have won in the game, to think that that is the highlight. Seriously, that’s honestly really genuinely lovely to hear.”
Keane would go on to explain that, alongside the pride of managing his country and what the team achieved, he had perhaps allowed himself to enjoy the experience more than some from his playing days.
I think I could take it in a bit more. When you’re a player, you’re obviously in the zone, we’re all under pressure. That couple of weeks in France, I was able to take a step back a little bit and really enjoy it.
Listen, we’re there to get results and get out of the group but the game against Italy was fantastic.
You wouldn’t have to search too long to find Irish fans who hold the experience of Euro 2016 in a similarly high esteem to Roy Keane.