Alex Ferguson's disdain for international breaks was no secret during his time as Manchester United manager.
It was a well-known trait of his United teams that players would mysteriously pick up "knocks" just before international windows came around, before returning to action as soon as the Premier League returned.
Ferguson's approach of pulling players from international duty was divisive among fans and pundits - and it appears as though it may have rankled some of his players too.
Speaking on the matter on this week's Stick to Football podcast in association with Sky Bet, former United star Gary Neville confirmed the long-held belief that it was a deliberate tactic by Ferguson.
In '98, '99, we were going for the treble, obviously.
In the March international [window], Beckham, Scholes, and me were pulled out of England games. Phil [Neville] went with Wes Brown and Nicky.
He used to do that - he'd say, 'you three out, you three go.' That March international window, he hated it.
He'd do a deal with the [international] manager, he'd have said, 'come on, we've got a run-in. You can have him in the summer, but you can't have him now.'
Roy Keane would then reveal that he fell out with his old manager after he tried to withdraw him from selection for the Ireland team.
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Roy Keane says he fell out with Alex Ferguson over stance on international football
Keane's long-standing feud with Alex Ferguson is infamous, but the revelation that the pair disagreed over Keane representing his country is a new one.
Did you [Neville] not tell him you wanted to go and play?
When you analyse it that way and you get a manager putting you under huge pressure [to withdraw]...it's not right.
I had that throughout my career...I fell out with Ferguson over it. He didn't want me going to play for Ireland.
(The discussion on international selection begins at 51:35 in the above video)
Neville defended Ferguson's tactics by clarifying that it rarely happened for international windows which did not occur during a title race run-in, and that he would seldom consider asking a player to pull out of a competitive international.
Nonetheless, Roy Keane said that he would be "ashamed" had he asked players to do likewise during his time as a club manager.
I would be embarrassed. When I was a manager, players were being called up.
I'd be ashamed on my life to bring a player in and say, 'you're not going.'
I wouldn't do it. You might say it was a different challenge at United, trophies, whatever. I still think that if you're a manager and a player gets called up...
Jill Scott would echo Keane's sentiment, saying she could not understand being asked to turn her back on playing for her country.
It will be intriguing to see how much Alex Ferguson's infamous tactics continue to pass over to the modern game. With an enthralling Premier League title race reaching fever pitch, fans of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal will be watching the international window with bated breath.
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