Roy Keane has not managed a club since leaving Ipswich Town in 2011, but his former Ireland team-mate Andy Townsend believes the ex-Man United captain could still return to the dugout
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Roy Keane sits in the dugout as Sunderland manager in 2008
Roy Keane enjoyed success as manager of Sunderland(Image: Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
Andy Townsend thinks Roy Keane has "unfinished business" when it comes to management.
Keane first made a name for himself in the dugout after taking over Sunderland in 2006 and guiding them to the Premier League. Following his departure from the Black Cats in 2008, Keane had a stint at Ipswich Town for two seasons.
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Although he hasn't managed a club since 2011, he has served as an assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest. Since leaving his role at Forest in 2019, the ex-Manchester United captain has been focusing on his broadcasting work with various media outlets, including Sky Sports.
Nonetheless, Townsend, who is also known for his punditry work post-retirement with the likes of ITV and talkSPORT, believes his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Keane, now 53, could yet make a return to management.
"Everyone has respect for Roy Keane's opinion, of course they do. I think he could go back into management," Townsend said to OLBG. "I've had a few chats with him over the years when I see him at matches and I think he could do it. I think there's probably unfinished business in his blood a little bit with regards to football management."
The former Aston Villa and Chelsea star even went so far as to suggest that Keane would have been the ideal candidate to take over at United following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag in October, as per the Mirror.
"When Erik ten Hag left Manchester United and they needed somebody to come in with a voice and to have an impact, Roy Keane would've been a voice to come in and to pick the supporters up who were so low at that point, the United fans," he said.
Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Sunderland Manager Roy Keane in 2007
Keane, pictured on the touchline against former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, was Townsend's pick to replace Ten Hag
"I think he would have been great at that. I genuinely feel he could have done that. Of course, people always go, 'No, you'll fall out with everyone'. But I think he would have certainly given the supporters a lift. He would have had some impact with the players."
However, Townsend did suggest that Keane might have grown too accustomed to the comforts of his media career to return to the demands of football management.
"Doing the media job enables you to have control of your life and it might not give you the highs and lows that football management gives you, but it gives you control of your life and you're able to say yes to this or no to that, do what you want to do, go home, shut the door and then it's done and dusted," he continued.
"He may be enjoying that and the older you get and with every year that passes, it's less likely that you'll probably go into something."
Andy Townsend on talkSPORT radio
Townsend believes Keane could still return to management
Although Keane has not managed a team in over a decade, he was reportedly close to taking the reins at Celtic in 2013, but ultimately, no agreement could be reached with his former club.
In a 2023 appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, the ex-midfielder confessed that he still considers returning to management. "I would like to go back in, yeah. I would like another crack at it," he said.
"Obviously I have been out of management for a number of years now, but still on a Saturday, I'm still agitated every Saturday, about not having a team, and I haven't managed for nine, 10 or 11 years, so it never goes away."