Roy Keane's approach to management has made it difficult for him to find work over the last number of years. In an era when man management consists of putting an arm around a player and rarely criticising them, his direct approach can often rub people up the wrong way.
The Irishman has been linked with a number of job over the last few seasons, although the only one he came close to taking was at Sunderland earlier this year. However, he opted against a return to the Stadium of Light after holding talks with the club.
They are a team he knows very. Keane's most successful stint as a manager came with Sunderland, leading them to the Premier League and retaining their status in the top flight in his second season in charge.
Anton Ferdinand recalls Roy Keane confrontation
Anton Ferdinand worked under Roy Keane at the club, recalling one incident where his style of management yielded results on the pitch.
Speaking on the Broadtalks Podcast, the former defender recalled how he ended up in a confrontation with his manager at halftime of one fixture after falling behind, only to go out and win the game in the second half.
We went in 1-0 down and Kenwyne got out-jumped just before half time. We got in the dressing-room and Roy Keane was just going proper off it. He was doing more than pointing fingers.
I don’t mind that - I grew up with it. If I’ve done something wrong then my mum and dad told me that I’d done something wrong.
Then, all of a sudden, he said something about the backline and I was like ‘I don’t agree!’
He just looked at me and said ‘I knew you were going to say something Mr Peckham’ - raw and straight-faced.
I was a bit like “ooh” and then he carried on, I didn’t say anything as I respected him, and he continued trying to get us up for the game.
He goes: ‘Who is going to go out there in the second half and show me that they have a pair of balls? Who is going to grab this game by the scruff of the neck? We all know you won’t Anton because you don’t have a pair of balls have you?’
That p***ed me off massively but he knew what he was doing.
"He identified that he needed to spark me to spark the team and when we were in the tunnel before we went back out I turned around to the boys and said: ‘Let’s go out there and prove him wrong.’
"We went out and scored just after half time. We went on and won the game, I blocked one off the line in the last few minutes.
"The whistle has gone, I’m amped, and I’m walking in there to go to him ‘I’ve got no balls gaffer’ but he was at the door waiting for me and put his hand out and said: ‘I knew you was going to win this game.”
"He then pulled me in and give me the shoulder barge. He just started giggling and that was the end of it."
Keane would spend just over two years at Sunderland, resigning at the end of 2008 as the club languished in the relegation zone.
He has only had one job in management since, spending a couple of years at Ipswich Town in the Championship before departing in 2011.
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