It was always one of the great clichés of the Alex Ferguson age that Man United's greatest strength was the ability to find a way to win even when they weren't playing well. It may be a cliché but that's not to say it wasn't true and to have that ability in a team - you need characters. Players who, when they aren't on top of their game, still have the drive and the will to do whatever they can in their power to get their team over the line. Many would say, players like Roy Keane.
If anyone in the world would know about the character needed to win championships - it's Roy Keane. It's perhaps unsurprising then, that the Republic of Ireland assistant manager doesn't think his former club Manchester United has enough of them.
On ESPN's Beyond The Pitch podcast, Keane went into detail about the recruitment policy behind the scenes at Old Trafford, identifying the biggest reason why they have been some way short of challenging for a title since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. He offered a modicum of support for Van Gaal, and hinted that winning the FA Cup against Crystal Palace would offer him a bit of breathing space to finish out his contract next season:
I wouldn't say I have sympathy for Van Gaal, but then again I don't like to see managers heavily criticised because it's a difficult job.
While Keane admitted that it was always going to be extremely tough to replace Ferguson, he lamented that the turnover at the club, and the recruitment hasn't been good enough and there are a lack of characters in the team. Should United win the FA Cup, he expects Van Gaal to be allowed to finish the last year of his contract. But he has a warning for the Dutchman about his recruitment policy:
But if they are going to recruit again then whatever about good players, what United need is two or three characters so on their bad days they're able to grind out results. I don't think they have enough characters in that team to get them back into winning league titles.
Keane was also asked about the Celtic job on the podcast, and while he did fire back some cliches about his interest in the position - he did reveal some of his thinking into where he sees his potential future. There was the classic "My only focus is on Ireland this summer" talk that almost seemed apologetic. But there was this one line that would seem to hint that he's leaning toward staying with Martin O'Neill should the Ireland boss stick around beyond the Euros.
If Martin O'Neill decides to stay on and he wants me involved, we'll have a good chat about it. I'm loving the role, and grateful for the position.
See Also: Roy Keane Attacks What It Means To Be 'Cool' In Modern Football - Better In His Day
Picture credit; Damien Eagers / SPORTSFILE
