Roy Keane vented his anger at yesterday's press conference in the wake of Ireland's disappointing defeat to Scotland. He refused to discuss the incident that happened in the Irish team hotel last Wednesday night. He did however, vent his frustration on several subjects, including Everton's control of James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman, and Jack Grealish's international future.
Keane was ferocious in the press conference, which lead to a tense stand-off between the Ireland assistant manager and several journalists present.
Keane's comments about James McCarthy, in particular, are sure to cause a stir in Goodison Park. Martin O'Neill had previously suggested that McCarthy could have played against his home country but his 'psychological state' was a factor in the decision for the Everton star to not play.
Keane is not pleased with the communication and relationship between Everton and Ireland, and believes a sit down meeting with Everton manager Roberto Martinez would benefit both sides.
You always get the impression from Everton that Seamus and James are both barely able to walk, [that] type of thing. So when they actually turn up and they are walking through the reception... Praise the lord. It's a miracle. Obviously, the manager, Roberto Martinez, is going to try and look after Everton. That's only natural as well.
You could argue all day but I think it's about getting the balance right when the qualifiers come around. So there has to be, I think, some sort of sit-down conversation. I think Martin's been more than good enough here, particularly the friendlies [last summer] but these are big qualifying matches now.
His frustration at Everton extends to when Seamus Coleman was ruled out for Ireland's historic draw with Germany. When asked about Cyrus Christie's comments that he can play at left-back, Keane mentioned that with Wilson and Ward in the Irish squad, Ireland were more than stocked at left back.
Cyrus is more natural at right-back and if there's going to be more sagas over the next few years with Everton and Seamus then we want players to be ready to step in because obviously we know Seamus is a very important player. We don't want the predicament of going to play the world champions and playing a midfielder at right-back.
While Martinez's response to Keane will be interesting, it's likely that things will be patched up between the pair before Aston Villa host Martinez's Everton in May.
Update: We're yet to hear Martinez's response but Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright has had his say and, unsurprisingly, he's rejected Keane's suggestions.
