Keane: Players agreed with what I said
Roy Keane: Outspoken skipper
(Allsport)
Roy Keane insists he still had the support of some of his Republic of Ireland team-mates even after his bust-up with Mick McCarthy.
Keane was ordered home from the World Cup on Thursday following the blazing row between the captain and his manager, after he had given an interview in an Irish newspaper criticising the team's training base in Saipan.
The Manchester United midfielder arrived back at his Cheshire home yesterday, and while he gave no comment to the reporters and photographers outside his house, he did give his version of events.
'Mick showed the players a copy of the Irish Times and an interview I had done. He said I was turning against the players. It just wasn't true,' said Keane.
'But he said that if I couldn't respect him then I shouldn't play for him and that's when I walked out. When I left the room I felt I was on my own.
'Some people are sheep and some are wolves. There are a lot of sheep over there and probably I am a wolf -- that's my honest assessment.
'But at the team hotel, following the meeting, several players came to see me.
'Two of them said they had completely agreed with what I'd said but didn't want to place themselves in jeopardy.
'Niall Quinn and Steve Staunton also had a word and said I had stepped out of line.
'They were entitled to their opinion. But at that point I didn't realise they had already spoken to the press about me.
'I feel I have been maligned. I feel that I have been stabbed in the back.'
Keane has reiterated his dismay at the Republic's lack of preparation and poor training facilities out in the Far East.
He said: 'Frankly, the players were joking on the bus that it was like playing for the Dog and Duck.
'Many of them agreed with me that the training pitch and the other part of the preparations were just a complete nonsense. The pitch was rock hard and players were at risk.
'Not only that -- we were supposed to have salt water drinks to keep us in shape. They hadn't arrived. Neither had the skips so we were left without boots or training kit.
'We had to use our casual wear for training. It was chaos. Just a joke.
'I went to see Mick in his room three days before it finally blew up. I told him of my concerns.
'I was acting in the best interests of the other players. As the captain I think that is my responsibility.
'He agreed with the points I made to him, but nothing happened.
'He said he had been given promises that the facilities would be right. I said you can't rely on promises when the World Cup is at stake.'
Keane claims his slanging-match with McCarthy, in front of his team-mates, arose after the boss accused him of faking injury in previous internationals.
He said: 'I have huge pride in the Irish nation and that has not altered. But I will never be accused of faking injury and letting down my country, particularly when the accusations are made in front of the rest of the players.
'That's why I reacted the way I did and I don't feel sorry about any aspect of it.
'In the meeting Mick accused me of faking injury and letting down my country. It was a reference to my missing the final qualifier against Iran in Tehran.
'He knew what the truth of that was because he had spoken to Alex Ferguson about it.
'He agreed that my knee problem had to be considered and accepted that I would be absent.
'Now, suddenly, the accusations were being repeated. And it was in front of all the players, not in private. In the privacy of a room with Mick, I could have handled it, discussed it.
'But I exploded. It wasn't right to treat me in that way. Mick was definitely putting a challenge down to me. Without a doubt it was all set up for me to react.
'I was being provoked and I swear on my children's lives it was being done deliberately.
'I did call Mick a w***** and no, I don't feel I should apologise for that now. When your loyalty to your country is questioned, and faking injury is mentioned, then I think you are right to speak out, that's what happened with me. I had to defend my position.'
Keane has, however, rubbished reports that he attacked McCarthy's right to manage Ireland despite being an Englishman.
'So much of what has been put in the public arena in both Ireland and England is utter nonsense,' said Keane.
'Sure, I called big Mick a w*****, I'm not sorry about that. But I didn't refer to him being an Englishman not an Irishman in any way.
'I was just trying to defend myself from very serious and unfair allegations.'
Keane also reveals that his feud with McCarthy is a long-running affair which dates back to the mid-1990s.
'A few years back in America, when we played in the US Cup, there was an argument between us when Mick was still captaining the team,' said Keane.
'A few of us got drunk out there and Mick had a go at us on the team bus. I turned round and told him where to go.
'In those days he was always sitting next to Jack Charlton and the lads joked that he was just after the manager's job.
'But Mick's last words to me following the altercation were: 'I'll get you back some day. It may not be now or even next week.'
'Eventually, this week, I feel he has got his revenge. I really do.'
Keane opened the door to playing for his country again if McCarthy leaves, but he has dismissed the possibility of apologising for his outburst and returning to the World Cup.
'There is absolutely no chance of that happening, never in a million years,' he declared.
'I have been hurt too much by what has happened, let down by so many people within the Irish camp.
'People are saying it is up to me to apologise. That's very funny. I think it should be the other way round.
'I won't be going back to Japan. Maybe, just maybe, there is a slight chance I could play for Ireland again once Mick McCarthy is no longer the manager.'
Roy Keane: Outspoken skipper
(Allsport)
Roy Keane insists he still had the support of some of his Republic of Ireland team-mates even after his bust-up with Mick McCarthy.
Keane was ordered home from the World Cup on Thursday following the blazing row between the captain and his manager, after he had given an interview in an Irish newspaper criticising the team's training base in Saipan.
The Manchester United midfielder arrived back at his Cheshire home yesterday, and while he gave no comment to the reporters and photographers outside his house, he did give his version of events.
'Mick showed the players a copy of the Irish Times and an interview I had done. He said I was turning against the players. It just wasn't true,' said Keane.
'But he said that if I couldn't respect him then I shouldn't play for him and that's when I walked out. When I left the room I felt I was on my own.
'Some people are sheep and some are wolves. There are a lot of sheep over there and probably I am a wolf -- that's my honest assessment.
'But at the team hotel, following the meeting, several players came to see me.
'Two of them said they had completely agreed with what I'd said but didn't want to place themselves in jeopardy.
'Niall Quinn and Steve Staunton also had a word and said I had stepped out of line.
'They were entitled to their opinion. But at that point I didn't realise they had already spoken to the press about me.
'I feel I have been maligned. I feel that I have been stabbed in the back.'
Keane has reiterated his dismay at the Republic's lack of preparation and poor training facilities out in the Far East.
He said: 'Frankly, the players were joking on the bus that it was like playing for the Dog and Duck.
'Many of them agreed with me that the training pitch and the other part of the preparations were just a complete nonsense. The pitch was rock hard and players were at risk.
'Not only that -- we were supposed to have salt water drinks to keep us in shape. They hadn't arrived. Neither had the skips so we were left without boots or training kit.
'We had to use our casual wear for training. It was chaos. Just a joke.
'I went to see Mick in his room three days before it finally blew up. I told him of my concerns.
'I was acting in the best interests of the other players. As the captain I think that is my responsibility.
'He agreed with the points I made to him, but nothing happened.
'He said he had been given promises that the facilities would be right. I said you can't rely on promises when the World Cup is at stake.'
Keane claims his slanging-match with McCarthy, in front of his team-mates, arose after the boss accused him of faking injury in previous internationals.
He said: 'I have huge pride in the Irish nation and that has not altered. But I will never be accused of faking injury and letting down my country, particularly when the accusations are made in front of the rest of the players.
'That's why I reacted the way I did and I don't feel sorry about any aspect of it.
'In the meeting Mick accused me of faking injury and letting down my country. It was a reference to my missing the final qualifier against Iran in Tehran.
'He knew what the truth of that was because he had spoken to Alex Ferguson about it.
'He agreed that my knee problem had to be considered and accepted that I would be absent.
'Now, suddenly, the accusations were being repeated. And it was in front of all the players, not in private. In the privacy of a room with Mick, I could have handled it, discussed it.
'But I exploded. It wasn't right to treat me in that way. Mick was definitely putting a challenge down to me. Without a doubt it was all set up for me to react.
'I was being provoked and I swear on my children's lives it was being done deliberately.
'I did call Mick a w***** and no, I don't feel I should apologise for that now. When your loyalty to your country is questioned, and faking injury is mentioned, then I think you are right to speak out, that's what happened with me. I had to defend my position.'
Keane has, however, rubbished reports that he attacked McCarthy's right to manage Ireland despite being an Englishman.
'So much of what has been put in the public arena in both Ireland and England is utter nonsense,' said Keane.
'Sure, I called big Mick a w*****, I'm not sorry about that. But I didn't refer to him being an Englishman not an Irishman in any way.
'I was just trying to defend myself from very serious and unfair allegations.'
Keane also reveals that his feud with McCarthy is a long-running affair which dates back to the mid-1990s.
'A few years back in America, when we played in the US Cup, there was an argument between us when Mick was still captaining the team,' said Keane.
'A few of us got drunk out there and Mick had a go at us on the team bus. I turned round and told him where to go.
'In those days he was always sitting next to Jack Charlton and the lads joked that he was just after the manager's job.
'But Mick's last words to me following the altercation were: 'I'll get you back some day. It may not be now or even next week.'
'Eventually, this week, I feel he has got his revenge. I really do.'
Keane opened the door to playing for his country again if McCarthy leaves, but he has dismissed the possibility of apologising for his outburst and returning to the World Cup.
'There is absolutely no chance of that happening, never in a million years,' he declared.
'I have been hurt too much by what has happened, let down by so many people within the Irish camp.
'People are saying it is up to me to apologise. That's very funny. I think it should be the other way round.
'I won't be going back to Japan. Maybe, just maybe, there is a slight chance I could play for Ireland again once Mick McCarthy is no longer the manager.'