He has definitely become an acquired taste as a pundit but there’s no doubting that Roy Keane is good value, and, as one former Man United striker has identified, has an opinion that has to be respected.
Dimitar Berbatov joined the club after Keane left and so was never on the receiving end of one of his tongue-lashings, but the Bulgarian believes that his contemporary has earned the right to be so critical of United’s players.
“I haven’t been on with Roy Keane yet, but I watched him with Patrice Evra the other week, that was quite tense,” he wrote in his Betfair column, cited by the Daily Star.
“It would be interesting for me to be alongside Roy talking about the football, I don’t think he gives a f**k about anyone, he is blunt and he says what he thinks, but he has earned that.
“On the pitch he sacrificed everything for the team with the way he played and led the team by example, when you do that you can say whatever you want, he’s been there and has shed blood for United and that has to be respected.
“I understand why he gets frustrated at times, he has been at United and has won so many titles, he is always connected to them no matter what and now that he sees them fighting to get in the top four, I bet he’s p****d off about that.”
Keane definitely has a punditry style that mirrors his persona as a player. He’s someone that will go in hard and ask questions later.
It’s that sort of mentality that drove him on, on the pitch, and it appears he will only settle for the very best now he’s in the spotlight each week.
Given the make-up of the modern player, it’s debatable that they would respond to Keane’s methods, but perhaps that’s precisely what’s missing from Man United at present.
Just imagine if every current United player had the same commitment as the club’s former captain…