Roy Keane's questionable player management has been all over the headlines this week, with his falling out with Harry After and Jonathan Walters in May leading to the Cardiff City midfielder making himself unavailable for selection for the Irish squad.
Keane did not take kindly to the two players missing training sessions due to injury, and reportedly expressed him feeling towards them in a couple of expletive-filled rants.
The incident was summarised in a leaked WhatsApp message sent by Stephen Ward which has done the rounds on social media this week, although manager Martin O'Neill claims events differed to what was described by the Burnley defender in the message.
Clearly Keane has a short fuse when it comes to dealing with players, and former-Ireland winger Liam Lawrence has experienced this firsthand.
Lawrence worked under the Cork man during his time at Sunderland, and speaking on Sky Sports News he explained how he found himself at the wrong end of a cutting tirade from his then manager which resulted in a swift departure from the club.
Liam Lawrence is doing Roy Keane no favours on Sky Sports. pic.twitter.com/JVkA4ptYma
— John Murphy (@JohnMurphy_Jr) September 11, 2018
We had a training ground bust-up on the Thursday, and by the Friday I was on my way down to Stoke. I suffered some of those words that he is using there as well, but about 20 more times!
So I know what it's like to be on the back of his tongue. But yeah, I literally let the next day and was never seen there again.
'Those words' that Lawrence is referring is a number of harsh expletives which Keane reportedly directed towards Walters and After during their falling out in May.
The event was also detailed in Keane's autobiography, where he admitted that the altercation between him and Lawrence was serious enough to become physical.
It was a proper shouting match; it was more than that. It was intense. I think I might have grabbed him – there might have been a bit of grappling, when he started to leave the office.
We have heard numerous stories of the former-Ireland captain clashing with players and managers over the years, and the latest incident simply adds to his repertoire of such incidents.
If Martin O'Neill is hoping to see his assistant manager tone it down a little bit, he may be left disappointed.
