Temper? You ain't seen nothing yet, says KeaneLouise Taylor
Saturday January 12, 2008
The Guardian
Roy Keane has denied that his calm and considered public image is a sham. Last week Clive Clarke, the Sunderland defender currently sidelined by heart trouble, said that Keane's man-management style swings between chair-throwing fury and frosty silences, but the Irishman dismissed such claims.
"I might have something to be worried about if it was from someone playing a lot of games but I think Clive has played one or two for me," said Keane, whose struggling team have a tricky game at home to Portsmouth tomorrow. "He hasn't been here a lot of the time, he's been away on loan and then off with his health problems. I'm taking it with a pinch of salt but,
trust me, it's being dealt with internally."
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The portrayal of Sunderland's manager as veering from anger to aloofness ensured an unusually large attendance at Keane's 8.45am press conference yesterday. "
Players are entitled to express opinions but if people believe what they've read, they are sadly mistaken," he said. "I've never thrown a chair or chairs. The strange thing is that people talk about me losing my temper but I feel I've never really lost it here. If people are worried about me losing my temper in certain situations, trust me, they've seen nothing yet. If people are worried now, my Jesus ... "
Keane seemed more annoyed by the implication that he is not a good communicator. "
Sometimes I've had four players in my office in an hour talking about things and I enjoy that side of the job," he said. "
I've always told players my door is open and they come and see me about problems - sometimes I give them a few days off.
I don't mind them having opinions. I had one in with me last week, just a young player, and he made some very valid points about certain things."A willingness to communicate should not, however, be confused with courting popularity. "That's a very dangerous road to go down as either a player or a manager," Keane said.
"I treat players with respect and have banter with them, but I keep a distance. Trust me, I'm comfortable not being pals with people. Other managers have tried to be popular and they've come unstuck, but people that know me know popularity doesn't concern me."
Sunderland's manager, who hopes to have signed five more players by the end of the month, added: "We've got to do the right thing for the club and bring in the right player with the right character. All I can do is identify my targets, give them to the chief executive and step back, and that's what I've done this week.
"Sunderland over many, many years have been criticised for not bringing the big players in while Newcastle have brought the likes of Michael Owen and Middlesbrough have signed [Fabrizio] Ravanelli and Juninho. But we are not just going to keep throwing money after money just to try and satisfy certain people out there."
Keane added that he had picked up the art of keeping his distance from his managerial mentors. "Brian Clough was brilliant to be with, but not for one minute did I think he was my pal. And in 12 years Alex Ferguson and I only had three or four big one-on-one conversations. I've got a certain way of dealing with players but my coaching and management hasn't changed since I got the job last year, when everyone say it was brilliant and working a treat."
Keane admitted his side's 3-0 surrender at home to Wigan in last week's FA Cup tie "tested the patience" of a so far steadfast support and well knows that managers become the subject of scrutiny when results go awry. "The bottom line is, we're not winning," he said. "That builds its own pressures. Suddenly people question everything." Including his serenity.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2239534,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=5
