IT'S GRIN UP NORTH ... but Roy Keane wanted
the focus to be football
Revealing fresh details of his shock exit in December,
Keane claimed he was pushed out. Keano took a stand against the
club when told to move his family to the North East. He also hated
interference on issues like club bigwigs advising him when to stage
training sessions.
The Irishman — who accuses the Premier League
strugglers of lacking a winning mentality — claims the final straw
came when chairman Niall Quinn insisted players should come to work
with a ‘smile on their face’.
Keane, who fell out with billionaire tycoon Ellis
Short, the club’s major shareholder, would not reveal details of
his legal spat with the club. But it is believed to relate to
bonuses that Keane claims he is entitled to if the Black Cats avoid
relegation.
Keane, 37, has already accused his replacement Ricky
Sbragia of being too pally with the squad and insists some of the
players are not fit enough. He said: “I have no problem with
explaining myself. You’re answerable to the people who run the
club. Don’t think for a minute I never spoke to Niall
Quinn.
“People have this impression that I didn’t have to
answer to anybody, that’s rubbish. “But people telling me what to
do, when to be training, where I should be living, and that the
players should be coming in with smiles on their faces. That’s when
there’s trouble.
“The first day I was shown around I said ‘people have
been taking the mick out of this club for too long’. “It was all
‘we want to be winners, we want to be driven’ and I tried to bring
that to the club. “Then, all of a sudden I’m told we need players
to come in with a smile on their face. That’s why my relationship
had to end with Sunderland. I have no regrets — I’d do the same
thing again tomorrow.
“I only ever smiled when I won. I worry for players who
smile when they lose. “But I do have a different mindset to
millions of people on this planet, be it football or life
itself.”
New Ipswich boss Keane is expected to raid Sunderland
in the summer with Daryl Murphy, Carlos Edwards, Dean Whitehead and
Nyron Nosworthy his top targets.
But fellow Irishman Andy Reid is not on his list. He
added: “He doesn’t deserve to be in the Ireland squad at the
moment. I find it hard to accept players saying they could be
fitter.”