Roy Keane is looking for a return into management after two years out of the firing line.
The Irishman assisted Martin O’Neill in international football in what was looked on as a rehabilitation project after a disappointing spell in charge of Ipswich Town. Both stepped down in November 2018 with Mick McCarthy taking over as Ireland manager on a temporary basis before handing on to Stephen Kenny.
Keane was heavily linked with the Celtic vacancy in 2014 before Ronny Deila’s surprise appointment and appears to be have supporters in the shape of O’Neill and Dermot Desmond.
With uncertainty over Neil Lennon’s future there is bound to be speculation linking Keane with Celtic although his managerial CV would make any appointment as big a gamble as the decisions that handed the job to John Barnes and Liam Brady.
Breaking the story in The Sun, Alan Nixon reports:
ROY KEANE wants a managerial comeback — despite his success as a TV pundit.
The fiery Irishman, formerly of Celtic, has told pals he is itching to be a boss again and get the day-to-day involvement at a club that he is missing. News that Keane would return to the dugout is bound to spark interest in many places, with his expertise confirmed by his TV work.
Keane has worked under Paul Lambert and Martin O’Neill in the past, so he is willing to be a partner or assistant with someone that he respects.
Nixon is very well connected in the north-west of England, catching wind of breaking stories as well as the best rumours on the circuit.
It is difficult to see where Keane’s old school values would fit in with modern management with his only real managerial success, at Sunderland coming over a decade ago and ending with an almost trademark sudden departure.