By Ed Leahy
Martin O’Neill has admitted that the latest Roy Keane episode is a concern but the Ireland manager has re-emphasised his opinion that he does not find it a distracting factor and believes that his assistant is good for Ireland.
The ex-Celtic and Aston Villa boss believes the alleged road rage incident involving Keane has been blown out of proportion and gave his assistant his full backing as long as the former Ireland skipper remains “good for Ireland”.
“Mountain out of molehill comes to mind immediately" - Martin O'Neill
Speaking at the announcement that Spar have been named as the FAI’s official convenience retail partner, O’Neill said: “I can’t say it doesn't bother me, of course it might be a concern but I’ve spoken to Roy about it and like everything else I’m prepared to listen to everything he said.
“Mountain out of molehill comes to mind immediately, and eventually when the whole thing has been investigated, I think you’ll find that will be the case."
When questioned about whether the assistant manager’s latest non-footballing media episode was proving a distraction to the manager, O’Neill was unequivocal in his support of the former Manchester United skipper.
“Absolutely not. I’ve not found it a distraction and I don’t find it a distraction. Because that was always going to be the case.
“I genuinely haven’t got a problem with it at all as long as he stays good for Ireland, which he has done. And if you were to ask the players about his contribution to us in the last few months, I think they would say it was excellent and that would be what I was considering most of all.
“Like anything else, if there was a situation where something might get out of hand, [then] that becomes a different issue. Those things that have happened so far, I haven’t considered distractions.”
