Roy Keane was given access all areas to the Manchester United squad back in 2019 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer invited the club legend and his old team-mate to speak to his young team
Roy Keane
Roy Keane was left unimpressed with one Manchester United player during his visit(Image: Getty)
Roy Keane gave a Manchester United squad a piece of his mind during a secret visit to Carrington.
The visit, which took place in 2019 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the helm and actively engaging club legends to motivate his players, saw Keane lay bare the demands of playing for the club. As to be expected, Keane – who has been tipped to return to the club to assist Ruben Amorim by former team-mate Mikael Silvestre – didn't mince his words when addressing the under-performing group.
He reminded the players what it meant to play for United and the sacrifices needed to bring success as the club. While the visit was regarded as a success, Keane was left unimpressed with the attitude of at least one unnamed player.
An insider revealed to the Mirror at the time: "As you'd imagine, Roy has strong views on what it takes to be a proper United player, and he gave it to them straight.
"He wasn't impressed with one player who didn't seem to be all that interested and looked as if he'd rather be somewhere else. But for the majority, it was a fascinating snapshot into the hunger and desire that drove Roy during his time at the club."
Keane, along with Gary Neville, has been vocal about the club's continuing problems, on and off the pitch, with United mired in the bottom half of the table and out of both domestic cup competitions.
Roy Keane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The Irishman recently criticised captain Bruno Fernandes' leadership of the team. But another ex-United player, Silvestre, believes Keane, 53, would be a wise addition to Amorim's coaching team.
Speaking to Yaysweepstakes.com, the Frenchman said: "I think it would be great for Roy Keane to play a role at Manchester United. Because, the thing is with Roy, he always treated everybody exactly the same way. It didn't matter if you were a new signing, an old guy, the manager, everybody.
"That's how he got respect. That's how Sir Alex got respect. If you treat everybody the same, no problem. Now, it's true you have players, and as soon as you say something to them, they don't collapse, but it affects them much more. We used to have thicker skin."
Ruben Amorim and Bruno Fernandes
Silvestre also commented on Joshua Zirkzee's recent social media apology for missing a penalty against Fulham, saying: "I saw Joshua Zirkzee apologising on social media about missing his penalty against Fulham. So you missed a penalty – you didn't kill anybody! There is no need for that. Plus, he had a good game, so don't blame yourself, it happens.
"I can remember when Paul Scholes missed a penalty in the FA Cup final [in 2005] and we lost to Arsenal. He was one of the best players of his generation, but he didn't apologise because that can happen in professional sport. You have to accept it and bounce back."
Mikael Silvestre
Silvestre also insisted Keane would defend the current crop of players if he was part of the coaching staff. He added: "I think it's a bit of a problem with this generation of players. They find criticism harder to take.
"If Roy Keane was involved at Manchester United, if he was on the inside with the group, he would have to protect and work for the group. You wouldn't see him criticising players in public, so there wouldn't be any issue."
United are preparing to face Real Sociedad away in their Europa League round of 16 first leg on Thursday. It is the club's last remaining chance to win silverware and qualify for European football next season.