Roy Keane quit due to ‘interference’

Apr 24 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

Roy Keane is back in football, but a new beginning didn’t stop a few old scores from being settled. Mark Douglas reports

“I am not going to go into it but I must have said it when I met Niall and the owners of the club about 5,000 times that I would do it my way, particularly in team affairs.” For most observers, it is hard to square Keane’s version of events with the evidence before them.

Handed a transfer kitty of £80m, allowed unprecedented control over signings and having a board that rarely questioned his actions before Short became involved – it is hardly the kind of brick wall that Kevin Keegan was knocking his head against at Newcastle.

But Sunderland must take Keane’s charge seriously because it once again brings Short – the man poised to step up his involvement in the club over the summer – into sharp focus.

Quinn has talked Short up constantly, and assures supporters that, despite his obvious differences with Keane, his money and vision can drive Sunderland on to the next level.

But Short remains in the shadows, and Sunderland supporters have heard nothing from the Dallas billionaire since he became involved in the club. A public rebuttal of Keane’s claim is unlikely, it is not Short or Sunderland’s desire to become involved in a public slanging match with a former employee, but some sort of statement from the Deep South may help soothe some furrowed brows.

It will be interesting to see how Keane’s relationship with Ipswich chairman Marcus Evans develops.

If Short’s lack of public profile makes him enigmatic then Evans is something else. Despite a fortune of many millions raised through a hospitality and training group, he’s never given an interview and there are no photographs of him publicly available.

But he has managed to persuade Keane that it is this, rather than the other opportunities punted his way, that should be his next challenge.

It looks from the outside as if Keane has been sold on the same vision that first attracted him to Sunderland – that of a sleeping giant whose potential waits to be awakened.

That ambition is the thing that has led him to a club with three seasons of Championship stagnation behind them, a club where he hopes to build on what he believes are “over-hyped” achievements with Sunderland.

“People exaggerate about my time there. I did a decent job, not fantastic, but a decent job,” Keane said.

“You have to remember the squad I walked into there. An old squad and a slow squad.

“I was lucky to be Sunderland manager and I hope I left my mark there as I hope I make my mark with Ipswich.

“I was happy with the team after the first and into the second year but probably bought too many players last summer.

“I didn’t have the right characters for Sunderland, but I wouldn’t have changed too much as I felt we were on course to finish the job I started despite the wobble. I have nothing but best wishes for the football club, it is a good club.”