Roy Keane saves the baring of his soul for the pages of his autobiographies.
The former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain has been incredibly honest in his two books to date, not sparing himself when it came to his anger, his rows with colleagues, his anger, his drinking and his anger.
“The self-destruct button is definitely there. And I suffer for it. With my drinking, I used to go missing for a few days," he wrote in 2014's 'The Second Half'.
"I think it was my way of switching off, never mind the consequences. It was my time. It was self-destructive, I can see that, but I’m still drawn to it. Not the drink – but the madness, the irresponsibility."
Martin O'Neill's assistant is, in many respects, an open book. However, in his role with the international team now he is often more reluctant to talk about himself.
Sure he will toss a few grenades at press conferences and stand back to watch the flames - so
journalists can be burned, as can
players, even
translators.
But Keano rarely chats anymore about himself or his own career, or possible past indiscretions. So, it was a surprise to see him offering a tiny insight into his early career at Tuesday's Airtricity League launch.
It turns out teetotaller Keane was fond of a few post-match pints during his Cobh Ramblers days...
https://twitter.com/AthleticDJ/status/831500177005477889
https://twitter.com/ericwhite80/status/831500034894098435
Any League of Ireland players hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Dundalk duo Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan and get called up to the international squad will need to be avoiding that kind of craic.
Can't be behaving like
Jason Lee and expect to be selected for the international team.
