STEVE McCLAREN has lifted the kid on Roy Keane’s brutal training ground treatment of Manchester United youngsters.
The iconic Red Devils captain took a no nonsense approach both on and off the pitch, as well as the training ground.
And according to current United coach Steve McClaren, who was enjoying his first spell at the Old Trafford club in the late 1990s, Keane asked for play to continue while a young star was injured during training.
Recalling the youngster writhing on the ground in agony, McClaren said, as quoted in The Times: “I’m blowing the whistle and stopping the play for treatment and Roy is saying, ‘Stevie, leave him, play on.’ ”
McClaren continued: “It was a tough school.”
Keane was involved in a number of bust ups during his time at Man Utd.
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In fact, it was a disagreement with legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson which spelled the end of his United career.
But fellow United great Teddy Sheringham has revealed he didn’t talk to Keane for over three years following a boozy row.
Sheringham in a book published next week called ‘1999: Manchester United, the Treble and All That’, recalled a row which took place during a bus journey from a night out with team-mates in 1998.
Sheringham wrote: “All of a sudden, Keany said, ‘Why don’t you f*** off back to London in your f***ing red Ferrari and your penthouse?’
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“I went ‘Eh?; And he says, ‘Yeah, f*** off back to London’.
“I’m like, ‘Are you coming for me, Keany? Why are you coming for me, you Paddy? F***ing what?’
“And he went ‘f*** off’, and he goes on ‘f***ing red Ferrari, penthouse…’.
“Then he jumped round, still with his bad leg, got me by the tie, pulled me towards him, grappling with him.
“Suddenly everyone’s going ‘what’s going on?’ and pulling us apart.”
Sheringham revealed instead of having it out the next day at training, Keane opted for the silent treatment.
The former England striker continued: “I couldn’t sleep that night thinking, ‘It’s going to go off as soon as I get into training’.
“I’ve seen Roy in the gym so I know it can go off. So I go in thinking, ‘Get yourself ready’. I actually go in to change thinking, ‘I’m ready for him’.
‘You have your own cubicle so I was either next to Keany, or maybe the one after, and as I walked in, he’s there doing his shoes up.
“I walked in past him and I’m thinking he’s going to get up and boot me in the face. I’m thinking ‘here we go’.
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“Keany gets up and walks out.
“He didn’t say a word to me. He didn’t say a word to me for the next three-and-a-half years.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk