ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: ROY KEANE has sent a conciliatory message to Mark Hughes, his former Manchester United team-mate, expressing regret for questioning whether he had been "successful" as a manager.
Only a day back into management at Ipswich Town, Keane is also thought to have done the same with Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic manager, dispatching a text message that explained he had meant no offence and hoped to see him soon on good terms.
The climb-down follows Keane’s introductory press conference at Portman Road when he took issue with a reporter asking him about former United players from the 1994 team who had been a success at management.
“Who are the good managers you are talking about?” Keane had asked. “Sparky [Hughes] and Brucey have not won a trophy, have they? They have potential, but anyone can have potential. Steve Bruce has had a good season, but Steve has been a manager for how many years? Until an ex-team-mate of mine from 1994 goes on and really achieves something, then I would not agree about [any of them] being a successful manager. You need a bit more than some of those managers have achieved yet.”
The comments drew a knowing roll of the eyes from Hughes at his press conference yesterday. “Roy will always answer a question in his own manner,” said the Manchester City manager. “But I’m not upset about it. Everyone knows what Roy’s like and having him back in football makes it interesting for the Championship, so good luck to him. I’m not going to be coming into much contact with him, obviously.”
“Success is relative,” said Hughes. “With limited resources, maybe just competing in the Premier League against some of the best teams in Europe can be viewed as a success.”
Bruce insists “football is better with Keane back in it”. He says he took no offence when he learned of Keane’s comments. “I’m sure it was taken out of context, but the one thing I have always said about Roy is that, even in a little sleepy town like Ipswich, he is back-page headlines, over two or three pages.
“I am glad he is back in the game, and I am sure he will be a success at Ipswich. He’ll put himself under enormous pressure – but that’s Roy. I’ve known him since he was 20 years old, so if there is somebody who can understand him a little bit, I know where he is coming from.
“And he’s right! We haven’t won anything. Two promotions means nothing in his book. You have got to win the Premier League and the European Cup as a manager to be a success in Roy’s eyes.”
GuardianService
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)