Roy Keane has been out of management since leaving Ipswich Town in 2011 and has since focused on his punditry career, but the Manchester United icon has not ruled out a return to the dugout
Former Manchester United midfielder Bryan Robson has weighed in on the possibility of Roy Keane returning to management. Despite not ruling out a return to the dugout, Keane seems content with his current role as a pundit.
The 54-year-old is a regular face on Sky Sports‘ Premier League coverage and ITV Sport’s England matches, and often features on Gary Neville’s The Overlap podcast. Keane recently disclosed that he was considered for the Republic of Ireland manager’s position before Heimir Hallgrimsson took the reins.
The former Nottingham Forest player served as assistant coach to Martin O’Neill, now Celtic’s interim manager, for the Irish team from 2013 to 2018.
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Robson has given his take on the prospect of Keane, former Ipswich Town and Sunderland boss, taking charge of Ireland and reuniting with ex-United defender and current Ireland assistant manager John O’Shea. He hinted that the job could be enticing and the scenario might eventually become a reality.
“Roy’s a determined character and if he fancies going back into management, then I’m sure the Republic of Ireland would definitely look at him because he knows the game and he’s got a lot of experience,” Robson said, via Grosvenor Casinos.
“The only thing I’d say about the Republic of Ireland at the moment is, when I played against them, they had a hell of a lot of really good players. They’ve got a few decent players at the moment, but in strength, the squad isn’t that strong.
“So it’ll be a tough job if Roy does go back into managing that. Saying that, John O’Shea is still in there, so whether Roy could work with John O’Shea, that could be an option.”
Nevertheless, O’Neill – who also previously worked with Keane at Nottingham Forest – has expressed doubt over the Manchester United legend taking the Ireland job.
“I would doubt it very much,” he told OLBG when questioned about Keane becoming the next Republic of Ireland manager.
“However, as I’m getting older and he is enjoying himself in life, seems to be, know, he’s doing all his punditry to work and getting adverts on TV and things like this here.
“So I’m quite sure he’s probably not thinking about going into management. But if he did and asked me along as the assistant, you know, to have a little cigarette mainly… or as a chief scout for him living down in southern Italy.
“Yes, I’ll take that. I’ll take that all day long.”
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
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