Roy Keane acknowledges that he was ‘fortunate’ to obtain the position at Sunderland and discusses how he did it.
As Wayne Rooney returns to the Championship with Birmingham City, the former Black Cats manager has reflected on his time on Wearside.
Former Sunderland manager Roy Keane acknowledges that he was fortunate to be given the opportunity to oversee the Black Cats as his first managerial position after his playing career came to an end. The legendary player for Manchester United had a fantastic playing career, taking home nearly every trophy available at Old Trafford.
The Stick To Football podcast briefly discussed Keane’s observation on former Man United teammate Wayne Rooney’s return to the Championship with Birmingham City this week. Keane
Keane managed Sunderland from 2006 to 2008, winning promotion back to the Premier League in his first season in charge and winning the Championship manager of the year award. And he has revealed how he balanced his family life with work on Wearside – and what Rooney has to do to continue to develop as a manager with the shadow of a great playing career hanging over him. Here’s the full transcipt of the discussion – you can watch the full podcast here.
Jamie Carragher – The thing I saw with Wayne (Rooney) is he is 37-years-old, his third job in management, and the thing I would say is and the reason why I never went into management, I think about players of who we played with in the England squad. You think of Wayne, Frank (Lampard) and Stevie (Gerrard), where they have to almost go to stay in management and move away from their family. I actually admire them because they have probably had to do things in their managerial career that they didn’t do in their playing career, and I don’t think I’d be prepared to do that. You (Neville) did it in terms of going to Valencia and speaking to you (Keane) and how you moved the whole family to Ipswich. I think that is a big part of management because it’s not like when you are playing and you are confident and think, I can see out this four-year deal – you know you are only going to be in a job for two years maximum. Was that a big problem for you? Was the family bit, kids and the schools in the back of your mind?
– Roy Keane Of course it is, but where you go in the club matters. I intended to relocate the family when I moved to Sunderland, but things didn’t quite work out with the family moving up and the schools. The fact that I commuted in the end actually suited me at the time, and perhaps we achieved some respectable achievements, so adopt the attitude that this is working and is best for us. I believe I signed a two-year contract while I was down in Ipswich, which was a little different. After purchasing a home there and moving the entire family there, I left after roughly 13 months. But they are the difficulties of managing.
JC – Would you like to go back into management Roy?
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