Keane Happy with Waterford Win
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Just over 15 minutes after watching his Ipswich team comfortably beat Waterford United, Roy Keane strode into the hospitality room inside the RSC for a brief press conference with the assembled press. As a large bald man in a suit standing next to the table exchanged nervous glances with his watch, the questions began.
First up was the obligatory reaction to the game. “No, no it wasn’t bad, happy enough, again another game for us, part of the stepping stone for the first game of the season," Keane stated. "We’ve had, obviously, a really busy eight or nine days now and the players again, I’m fairly pleased with them and we’ll look forward now to the game on Sunday [v Cork].”
It was a tough challenge overall for Ipswich with their hosts giving them a decent game for the whole 90 minutes. Keane admitted to be being impressed by Waterford and that some players did catch his eye. “Yeah there was a few, we probably wouldn’t be able to afford them but there was one or two not bad. No it’s good, I always enjoy every time we come over here and previously when I was manager at Sunderland.
"We played Finn Harps last week; the honesty from the League of Ireland teams has to be admired and I thought some of the Waterford boys tonight, particularly in the first half, did really well and our lads will know they were in a game. A few of them will know that, you know, they get stuck in and sometimes you obviously don’t get that in training. These games again are priceless to us; we’ve had Finn Harps, Brentford the other night, tonight, Cork City on Sunday and a few games obviously when we get back to England. I’m fairly pleased, particularly with the attitude of the players, we left Ipswich at seven this morning to get to Heathrow, so it’s been a long days travelling which is not ideal, not making excuses, but the players have knuckled down and their attitude has impressed me more than anything else I have to say.”
Keane was lavish in his praise for two-goal star Owen Garvan, the midfielder is tipped for success by many in the game. “Yeah I have to say [he’s impressed me]. He came on the other night at Brentford and I thought he kept the ball really well tonight. Yeah Owen’s impressing me all the time I have to say, and again, like a lot of players, he’s showing me he wants to be in that team for the start of the season. He’s a talented boy, if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, but you need more than talent to be a top footballer and that doesn’t just reflect on Owen, it’s on every player.”
Keane looked very relaxed as he leaned back in his chair but the former Ireland midfielder was slightly agitated when questioned about the possibility of Sunderland striker and former Waterford United player Daryl Murphy joining him at Ipswich. Keane and Murphy had held talks about a move but the transfer broke down due to Murphy being unable to agree terms before repeating the act when negotiating with Hull City.
When asked if he would be returning with a bid for his former player, Keane shook his head silently and awaited another question. Later the Cork man was pushed for an answer and his tone became a touch heavier. “Expand on it [his answer]? I’ve had a lot of ex-players at Sunderland, do you want to ask me about all of them? That’s dead in the water as far as I’m concerned. It’s nothing personal.” This response caused the questioner to butt in, “But it’s just the press were full of it,” before Keane wittingly interrupted “Yeah you’re spot on there.”
Another light-hearted moment arrived when a visiting member of the English press asked Keane if he had a soft-spot for the Championship, prompting his reply, “I’ve got a soft-spot for a lot of things”, in a playful manner.
Keane was also asked if there would be any new faces arriving at Portman Road in the near future. “No I wouldn’t say there’ll be anyone coming in the next week or two. I think before anybody comes into the club we might have to let one or two go, that’s the way it is at the moment but we’ll see what happens over the next few days.” The Town boss also confirmed that the club had received bids from other clubs for some players but the offers were not deemed acceptable. “We weren’t happy with the offers that came in for maybe two of our players but it’s up to the clubs to come back.”
Keane was also questioned on the similarities between the task he is faced with at Ipswich and the one he had when he took over at Sunderland. “It’s very hard to compare, it’s a different challenge. I probably won’t have to bring in the amount of players as when I got to Sunderland so I’ll probably have to wheel and deal a bit more so that’s a different challenge for me as a manager. It’s very hard to compare but I’m optimistic we’re gonna have a good season.
"I’ve been Ipswich manger now maybe five, six weeks but it feels a lot longer, I feel really settled in and I feel at home at the club. You learn a lot about the players pre-season, like today, not necessarily the games but the travelling. We’d five days in Portugal last week and the players’ attitude is really impressing me and we look forward to the next few weeks. I enjoy being in their company, which is important. We had the four or five days in Portugal last week and I’ve not enjoyed myself that much for a long, long time, don’t tell my wife I said that, but just enjoying it in terms of the working environment and that’s always been my dream as a manager, to work with players in a club that wants to do well every single day of the week.”
Keane also singled out the facilities and setup at the RSC for special praise. “They’re very good, excellent. That’s one of the big pluses when you come over, you get looked after. Obviously people will look at the game but they don’t see the travelling this morning, getting looked after at the hotel, we’ll be back there tonight for something to eat and then do recovery in the morning. The hospitality you get in these places is brilliant and I keep saying it, these clubs have to be admired. Teams like Waterford you saw a lot of their young players tonight and they wouldn’t have looked out of place in our team, simple as that. Hugely impressed with them.”
With his side travelling to play Cork City next Keane was sympathetic to the plight of the Leeside club. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the financial stuff but if it helps and can get a few bob into the clubs then great, obviously we look at it as coming over for a tough match. Look at what happened to Cobh Ramblers, they’re forgotten about. People forget about Cobh Ramblers and it’s sad, very, very sad. Jesus it’s unfortunate, it just seems to be the way of the world at the moment. Cork City is a great sporting tradition of a lot of sports, hurling, football, every sport going and they love their football down there. Hopefully they’ll get through it, fingers crossed.”
Despite these sentiments however Keane refused to condemn the money being thrown around in world football, especially this summer and even branded former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo’s 80 million price tag as “cheap”. “I’m ok with it, I have to say, it’s just the way it is. If clubs are prepared to pay that for a player, people talk about Ronaldo going for 80 million, I look at other players and I think Ronaldo is cheap for 80 million, I really do. He’s the best player in the world, football is classed as entertainment so look at any industry, the top people get the top money.”
It was at this stage that the bald man stepped in. Having spent the entire time glaring at his watch, he had decided our time with Roy was finished and the circus packed up and headed for Cork.
First up was the obligatory reaction to the game. “No, no it wasn’t bad, happy enough, again another game for us, part of the stepping stone for the first game of the season," Keane stated. "We’ve had, obviously, a really busy eight or nine days now and the players again, I’m fairly pleased with them and we’ll look forward now to the game on Sunday [v Cork].”
It was a tough challenge overall for Ipswich with their hosts giving them a decent game for the whole 90 minutes. Keane admitted to be being impressed by Waterford and that some players did catch his eye. “Yeah there was a few, we probably wouldn’t be able to afford them but there was one or two not bad. No it’s good, I always enjoy every time we come over here and previously when I was manager at Sunderland.
"We played Finn Harps last week; the honesty from the League of Ireland teams has to be admired and I thought some of the Waterford boys tonight, particularly in the first half, did really well and our lads will know they were in a game. A few of them will know that, you know, they get stuck in and sometimes you obviously don’t get that in training. These games again are priceless to us; we’ve had Finn Harps, Brentford the other night, tonight, Cork City on Sunday and a few games obviously when we get back to England. I’m fairly pleased, particularly with the attitude of the players, we left Ipswich at seven this morning to get to Heathrow, so it’s been a long days travelling which is not ideal, not making excuses, but the players have knuckled down and their attitude has impressed me more than anything else I have to say.”
Keane was lavish in his praise for two-goal star Owen Garvan, the midfielder is tipped for success by many in the game. “Yeah I have to say [he’s impressed me]. He came on the other night at Brentford and I thought he kept the ball really well tonight. Yeah Owen’s impressing me all the time I have to say, and again, like a lot of players, he’s showing me he wants to be in that team for the start of the season. He’s a talented boy, if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, but you need more than talent to be a top footballer and that doesn’t just reflect on Owen, it’s on every player.”
Keane looked very relaxed as he leaned back in his chair but the former Ireland midfielder was slightly agitated when questioned about the possibility of Sunderland striker and former Waterford United player Daryl Murphy joining him at Ipswich. Keane and Murphy had held talks about a move but the transfer broke down due to Murphy being unable to agree terms before repeating the act when negotiating with Hull City.
When asked if he would be returning with a bid for his former player, Keane shook his head silently and awaited another question. Later the Cork man was pushed for an answer and his tone became a touch heavier. “Expand on it [his answer]? I’ve had a lot of ex-players at Sunderland, do you want to ask me about all of them? That’s dead in the water as far as I’m concerned. It’s nothing personal.” This response caused the questioner to butt in, “But it’s just the press were full of it,” before Keane wittingly interrupted “Yeah you’re spot on there.”
Another light-hearted moment arrived when a visiting member of the English press asked Keane if he had a soft-spot for the Championship, prompting his reply, “I’ve got a soft-spot for a lot of things”, in a playful manner.
Keane was also asked if there would be any new faces arriving at Portman Road in the near future. “No I wouldn’t say there’ll be anyone coming in the next week or two. I think before anybody comes into the club we might have to let one or two go, that’s the way it is at the moment but we’ll see what happens over the next few days.” The Town boss also confirmed that the club had received bids from other clubs for some players but the offers were not deemed acceptable. “We weren’t happy with the offers that came in for maybe two of our players but it’s up to the clubs to come back.”
Keane was also questioned on the similarities between the task he is faced with at Ipswich and the one he had when he took over at Sunderland. “It’s very hard to compare, it’s a different challenge. I probably won’t have to bring in the amount of players as when I got to Sunderland so I’ll probably have to wheel and deal a bit more so that’s a different challenge for me as a manager. It’s very hard to compare but I’m optimistic we’re gonna have a good season.
"I’ve been Ipswich manger now maybe five, six weeks but it feels a lot longer, I feel really settled in and I feel at home at the club. You learn a lot about the players pre-season, like today, not necessarily the games but the travelling. We’d five days in Portugal last week and the players’ attitude is really impressing me and we look forward to the next few weeks. I enjoy being in their company, which is important. We had the four or five days in Portugal last week and I’ve not enjoyed myself that much for a long, long time, don’t tell my wife I said that, but just enjoying it in terms of the working environment and that’s always been my dream as a manager, to work with players in a club that wants to do well every single day of the week.”
Keane also singled out the facilities and setup at the RSC for special praise. “They’re very good, excellent. That’s one of the big pluses when you come over, you get looked after. Obviously people will look at the game but they don’t see the travelling this morning, getting looked after at the hotel, we’ll be back there tonight for something to eat and then do recovery in the morning. The hospitality you get in these places is brilliant and I keep saying it, these clubs have to be admired. Teams like Waterford you saw a lot of their young players tonight and they wouldn’t have looked out of place in our team, simple as that. Hugely impressed with them.”
With his side travelling to play Cork City next Keane was sympathetic to the plight of the Leeside club. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the financial stuff but if it helps and can get a few bob into the clubs then great, obviously we look at it as coming over for a tough match. Look at what happened to Cobh Ramblers, they’re forgotten about. People forget about Cobh Ramblers and it’s sad, very, very sad. Jesus it’s unfortunate, it just seems to be the way of the world at the moment. Cork City is a great sporting tradition of a lot of sports, hurling, football, every sport going and they love their football down there. Hopefully they’ll get through it, fingers crossed.”
Despite these sentiments however Keane refused to condemn the money being thrown around in world football, especially this summer and even branded former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo’s 80 million price tag as “cheap”. “I’m ok with it, I have to say, it’s just the way it is. If clubs are prepared to pay that for a player, people talk about Ronaldo going for 80 million, I look at other players and I think Ronaldo is cheap for 80 million, I really do. He’s the best player in the world, football is classed as entertainment so look at any industry, the top people get the top money.”
It was at this stage that the bald man stepped in. Having spent the entire time glaring at his watch, he had decided our time with Roy was finished and the circus packed up and headed for Cork.
About Dean Hayes
Dean covers Waterford United and, due to a challenge from Gareth, writes in an increasingly Gonzo style. Having found himself with a considerable surplus of a culinary herb, Dean founded sister 'site extrathyme.ie some years … View Full Profile