Roy Keane has listed taking “his eye off the ball with the Irish stuff” as a career regret, and has showed no signs of softening his stance towards former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin to launch his latest autobiography, The Second Half, Keane said he did not know if he would forgive Ferguson for the falling-out between the two following the Corkman's acrimonious departure from United.
“Football is a small world, and eventually, you would think, you will cross paths with people again,” Keane said.
“Will I bump into him or not - whether it be at a game, or sometimes there are conferences going on.
“The problem I had [...] it's afterwards when people start coming out with all sorts of nonsense.
"For Alex Ferguson to criticise not just myself but [...] other players, who were part of a team that brought some good days to lots of supporters.
"For him to criticise that when you think what he made out of it; he made millions of pounds on it, he's got his statues, he's got his stand named after him [...] To criticise people who have earned success was just ridiculous. Would I forgive him? I don't know."
Keane said that he was happy to let some things go, "but eventually you have to go, 'enough is enough'."
“Ferguson has pals in the media, I can spot them a mile off, some of them are here today. I can see them, putting out little snippets, lies”
The Ireland assistant manager insisted that there had not been a problem between him and other Manchester United players following his infamous interview with the club’s TV station in which he criticised other players.
He also reiterated his criticism of Ferguson for the way the fall-out from the controversy was handled, and suggested that it had been exacerbated by Ferguson’s contacts in the media.
“No-one had an issue with that in terms of the players, it was just Ferguson and [United assistant coach Carlos] Queiroz.
“Ferguson has pals in the media, I can spot them a mile off, some of them are here today. I can see them, putting out little snippets, lies.”
Referring to his playing career with Ireland, which saw him retire before the 2002 World Cup after an infamous falling out with then manager Mick McCarthy, before returning to play under Brian Kerr, Keane said he had some regrets about how he managed his club versus country dilemmas through the years.
The ex-Sunderland and Ipswich boss said: "I look back and think there’s a few regrets on that side of it, where I should have fought my corner a bit more.
“I wish I kind of hadn’t taken my eye off the ball with the Irish stuff but [I] did and it happened," he said.
"That’s why the chance to get involved with Ireland was fantastic for me, from a selfish point of view, and it just rekindled what I love about the game."
