Former Ireland midfielder Andy Reid has provided a strong defence of Roy Keane’s management style and ultimately believes that he can still be a success in football management.
Keane and former Ireland manager Martin O’Neill left the national team last November following a string of disappointing results with the two quickly reuniting at Championship club Nottingham Forest last month.
“Roy demands high standards. You need to be mentally strong with him.”
“If people can’t deal with that, they need to work in their personalities.” 😡@AndyReidXI doesn’t get criticism of Roy Keane’s management style. pic.twitter.com/I9pm5gzCSg
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 19, 2019
Keane’s coaching methods came under question following a high profile lambasting of Ireland internationals Jon Walters and Harry Arter last year but Reid believes that the former Manchester United midfielder merely demands high standards of those that he works with in football.
“Roy is demanding,” Reid told TalkSport.
“He demands high standards, he demands things and you need to be mentally strong working with him. I don’t see any problem with that.
“People are saying ‘oh well you can’t treat players like that anymore’… what you can’t demand high standards? You can demand high standards. Day in, day out.
“Pass the ball properly. 10-yard pass, make sure it’s done properly. If there’s a tackle there to be made, tackle. Do it properly. Everything do it properly.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that and if people can’t deal with that then they need to work on their personalities.”
Reid was part of some of O’Neill and Keane’s earlier squads with Ireland but said that Keane used to have this ability to make every player raise their game with Ireland during his playing career and that he’s probably still trying to find his way from that perspective as a manager.
“I was in two or three squads with him when Martin took over and Roy was in there and it is a different dynamic for Roy; he’s not the manager.
“Although he’s going to let you know his opinion, there’s times when he has to step back, and there’s times when he has to be the one going up to people and having that quiet little chat with them.
“But listen if Roy Keane is coming up and having that quiet little chat with you, you’re going to respond to him. I remember playing with him and I’d say Roy is one of the best players I played with because whenever he came into a team they raised their game by one or two percent; because he was in the team.
“Not because of anything he did on the ball, because he was there and because of his personality. Now if everyone on the team raises their game by one or two percent, your team is going up by 10 or 20 percent in your performance.
“I’ve never seen another player have that type of an effect on a team before and Roy is probably still trying to find his way to do that in coaching and in management and when he does I think he can be very, very successful.”
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