Roy Keane’s former Manchester United teammate Andy Cole reckons the Corkman sometimes “lost the plot” as a manager - because he was such a naturally gifted player.
Keane had spells in charge of Sunderland and Ipswich Town, as well as assistant manager roles alongside Martin O’Neill with Ireland and Nottingham Forest, and alongside Paul Lambert at Aston Villa.
At Sunderland he led the Black Cats to promotion during his first season in charge, but stepped down two and a half years later with the team struggling in the Premier League.
During a shorter spell at Ipswich Town, he struggled to steer the Tractor Boys into the promotion equation.
Cole won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League with Keane as his teammate at United, and he had a brief spell playing under the Ireland legend at Sunderland.
And while he was able to handle Keane’s outbursts, he felt other players struggled with that side of their manager.
“Once you get to know that individual, for me personally what I would say about Roy is he is just honest,” said Cole.
“Sometimes people don’t like honesty and they get upset by honesty, but for me personally it never bothered me. I enjoyed playing with him. He was a fantastic captain. Everyone who played under him would tell you that.
“All he ever wanted from you was for you to give 100 percent. You give him that, he was more than happy. I have nothing but high praise for him.
“I played a little bit under him as a manager and that was a bit different. But I was used to him because I played with him for so long, so it never bothered me.
“I know some of the other boys might have found it a little bit difficult, but you just need to understand his passion.
“I think with Roy, because he was so good at doing what he did, he couldn’t understand why players couldn’t do what he used to do without thinking about it.
“Sometimes when you go into management, that’s something you have to navigate yourself through. What comes to you naturally might not come to others naturally. So every now and then he lost the plot. But that’s football.”
Part of the problem, Cole feels, is that dressing rooms were changing as he moved into management, and the hairdryer treatment that they were used to under Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford was no longer in vogue.
“Back then, players used to take things to heart,” he said. “When you play football, if someone loses their temper with you, that’s one thing you can’t do, take it to heart. In the heat of battle you say or do things that aren't personal, it’s just the heat of battle.
“Some of the players might have taken it the wrong way, but when you have got that passion and drive to win, that kind of stuff happens.
“But it never bothered me. When you play at that level, you get it. When you want to win, you get it.”
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