Roy Keane reveals six players always in the ‘back of his mind’ during Man Utd career including ‘p***k to play against’
ROY KEANE once revealed his six-man hit list of players that he would keep in the back of his mind when he played against them.
Known for his hard-man persona and crunching tackles, Keane was no stranger to booking during his career.
His full-frontal approach to the game saw him pick up seven Premier League red cards – the second most sending offs in the league’s 32-year history.
Keane has made it clear that his intentions were never to go out and hurt anyone on purpose, but admitted there was still a list of players he would keep at the back of his mind when he faced them with an eye to leave something on them.
One of the former Manchester United star’s most famous incidents was a heavy blow on Alf-Inge Haaland – father of Man City’s Erling Haaland.
Keane put in a studs up challenge right on the Norwegian’s knee back in 2001, with many suggesting that the brutal tackle was the point at which Haaland’s career ended.
Speaking in his 2014 book “The Second Half”, Keane described Haaland as “an absolute p***k to play against”, going on to list the other five players that he would always look out for on the pitch.
He explained: “He was an absolute p***k to play against. Niggling, sneaky.
“The incident took place in a match against City. But I’d played against him when he was at Leeds. The rivalry was massive between United and Leeds.
“Was I going around for years thinking, I’m going to get him, I’m going to get him’? No.
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“Was he at the back of my mind? Of course, he was. Like Rob Lee was, like David Batty was, like Alan Shearer was, like Dennis Wise was, like Patrick Vieira was.
“All these players were at the back of my mind. ‘If I get a chance, I’m going to f****n’ hit you.”
Keane had some pretty famous battles on the pitch with Patrick Viera and Alan Shearer with some of their bad blood spilling into the tunnel.
But the incident with Haaland has always stuck out above the rest.
Following the challenge, Haaland’s knee injury saw him make just four substitute appearances in the subsequent season and he was forced to retire aged just 30.
While Keane was handed a five-game ban and a £150,000 fine by the FA for his excessive force.
The seven-time Premier League champion has insisted he never intended to injury anybody though and that heavy tackles were just part of his role as a central midfielder.
He said: “That’s the game. I played in central midfield. I wasn’t a little right-back or left-back, who can coast through his career without tackling anybody.
“Or a tricky winger who never gets injured. I played in the middle of the park. There’s a difference between kicking somebody and injuring somebody. Any experienced player will tell you that”.