It's fair to say that Roy Keane has gained a reputation as something of an abrasive personality throughout his career in football.
The former Ireland and Manchester United captain was infamously ready to take on anyone during his playing career, and the latter stages of his time as a coach with Ireland came to be defined by alleged fallings out with players behind the scenes.
Since moving into punditry, Keane has continued to be an outspoken presence, most notably when challenging the underwhelming performances of his former club Manchester United.
One avenue through which a softer side of Keane has been seen in recent years has been his participation in the excellent 'Overlap' podcast created by his former teammate Gary Neville.
A particularly striking clip emerged from last week's show in which Neville said that he was feeling run down. Neville is Sky Sports' dominant force as a pundit alongside Jamie Carragher, as well as being part of the ownership team at Salford City F.C., running his own business - aptly titled 'Relentless' - and has recently taken on a role as a judge on Dragon's Den.
When Neville said that he was feeling tired, Keane had a surprisingly heartfelt response of concern for his ex-teammate:
I know what it is. It's stress, 100%. You're working too hard, Gary. You're working too hard.
Your body is telling you something...you always have a cold, or a rash, or something.
Gary, listen to this, I swear to you: slow down. You've a wife and children, all the money in the bank.
The interaction takes place at 3:10 in the above clip.
The expression of concern from Keane for Neville's wellbeing struck a chord with many football fans - and Neville has now publicly responded, saying the remarks from the Irishman were a wake-up call for him.
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Gary Neville on Roy Keane advice
Gary Neville took to LinkedIn this week to address the interaction between himself and Roy Keane on last week's episode of 'Stick to Football' by The Overlap.
Neville acknowledged that he may have stretched himself too thin, and said that Keane's urge for him to slow down had hit close to home:
Last week was a bit of a whirlwind being on Dragons Den, but in the midst of that there was a clip that came out of Roy Keane on Stick To Football telling me to slow down and what he said has been on my mind for a few days.
Last year I spoke about the Brian Kidd philosophy I’d learned at United of “Make your pace early, you can’t make it up at the end”, my motto being “Attack The Day” and my company being called Relentless.
People tell you to go for it and people tell you to slow down and take your time and you end up having these conflicting messages in your mind where you’re looking for balance.
Because I have great respect for Roy and I don’t think he would have said it if he didn’t genuinely feel it, it did hit home how that balance is important.
That idea between work ethic, work ethos and hard work being the most important thing for me and it underpinning everything I’ve ever done vs slowing down at times and making sure you look after yourself and your health.
Neville's acknowledgement that he may have pushed himself too hard in the pursuit of satisfaction is a quietly powerful one, and the entire episode shows the respect he has for Roy Keane.
Though he may be seen by some as a somewhat hardened figure, it's nice to see Keano looking out for an old mate - and the advice seemingly being heeded.
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