Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane surprisingly dropped rare praise on Sir Alex Ferguson amid his fierce rivalry with the legendary former Manchester United manager.
Roy Keane spent the entirety of his legendary Manchester United spell under Sir Alex Ferguson after he was signed from Nottingham Forest in 1993.
The 52-year-old Irish hardman became a linchpin midfield figure in Ferguson’s legendary United teams of the past and emerged as a formidable leader.
Keane ascended to the captaincy at United after fellow club legend Eric Cantona announced his sudden retirement from football in 1997.
The Irishman’s exploits as United captain included his pivotal role in the Red Devils securing an iconic continental treble in the famous 1998-99 season.
During his time at Old Trafford, Keane lifted seven Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and four FA Cups with United.
Keane’s rare compliment for Ferguson
Roy Keane’s relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson fractured in 2005 after the Manchester United legend’s contract was terminated by mutual consent.
However, the former United captain felt hard done by the situation after Ferguson’s ruthless decision to axe him amid their falling out at Old Trafford.
Keane, who had a brief spell with Celtic before retiring in 2006, has had no love lost for Ferguson since their time at United and has not been afraid to pull any punches.
Speaking on the Stick to Football show, the former Sunderland and Ipswich Town boss admitted that he felt Ferguson had the right balance for team talks.
Keane claimed the Aberdeen legend could be both “tough” or “fair” with people depending on the situation, which he “mostly” liked about Ferguson’s approach.
“Through all those team talks – hundreds of team talks – to kind of get it right, mostly, I liked that,” he said on The Overlap.
“I liked the fact that he’s just got that balance right regarding being tough, or being fair with people.”
Keane on fallout with Ferguson
Jill Scott asked Keane if the fallout with Ferguson still hurt him and the United legend suggested that he had “justified anger” over what happened to him.
Keane pointed to the struggles he had when he was axed from Old Trafford, including his broken foot and having to wait until January to play for a new club.
“I get my anger is obviously a long time ago but the worst anger you can have is the justified anger where you feel – again I feel – I hadn’t done anything wrong,” he said.
“Listen, I’m a big boy, I can deal with it. It was all the way it was done; it wasn’t nice – that’s the bit.
“But I almost have to remind people, I couldn’t go to anybody, I left October, November – came back from a broken foot which I broke at Anfield, couldn’t go to another team.”