Roy Keane has revealed he has taken his first steps in becoming a coach. The 31-year-old former Republic of Ireland captain insists he will see out his contract at Manchester United and continue playing for a further three years but he has admitted to speaking to former United coach and current Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren about the coaching road he needs to take.
"Being 32 in August you start to think of these things," said Keane in an interview with the Manchester United Magazine."If you had asked me two years ago about management, I would have told you it wasn't even on my mind. Now as I have got a bit older, I have spoken to Steve McClaren and one or two other people and started to think along those lines about getting my coaching badges and being a manager some day. It is a road I think I would like to go down but again it is dangerous thinking too far ahead. Like most things in football, once you start planning things ahead they go out of the window. But being a manager does appeal to me," he explained.
However, Keane is eager to do all he can to prolong his playing career. "I am doing everything to make sure I can carry on as long as I can at United," he said. "Not a day goes by when I am not looking to do something that could prolong my career. I am looking at everything, whether it is stretching, footwear, diets, weights, making sure I get enough rest. When you hit 30 that's when you start thinking, `I want to hang in there, as long as I can'.
"I don't want to be hanging in there and just getting by. I want to still be at the top. That's why I am constantly looking around, like you do in life, as to what will make me better and help me," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
