Former Ireland captain Roy Keane has claimed that working with Martin O'Neill during the 2016 Euros was probably the highlight of his career.
O'Neill held the Irish reins from 2013 to 2018 and guided the team to Euro 2016 with Keane as his assistant coach. However, after a string of poor results, O'Neill was replaced by Mick McCarthy in 2018.
Keane, who won numerous Premier League titles and other trophies during his playing career, might have been expected to choose a moment like the famous match in Turin during Manchester United's 1999 treble season as the highlight of his career. However, the Cork native revealed that his time working with O'Neill was the period he was most proud of.
“I go back throughout my career, and my experience with Martin, particularly going to the Euros, was probably the highlight of my career,” Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast this week.
“It sounds bizarre because we always talk about playing, and I loved playing, but our time with Ireland was probably the highlight.
“I just loved everything about it—the dynamics, the energy of the group, working with Martin and the other staff members. There was something going on there, and there was a feel-good factor.
“The lads were decent. We probably did lack an out-and-out goalscorer, a bit of quality, all of those things, but we got to the Euros, we got to the playoffs [for the World Cup]. It was one of the best times of my life.”
Keane’s career, both as a player and a coach, was often marked by high-profile incidents. One such saga occurred during his most recent stint with Ireland.
In 2018, a row between Keane and players Jonathan Walters and Harry Arter became a major talking point for the Republic of Ireland camp. O’Neill addressed the situation during a pre-match press conference in Poland after a leaked WhatsApp recording surfaced. In the recording, defender Stephen Ward shared his understanding of the events involving Keane, Walters, and Arter during the summer.
The fallout led to Arter making himself unavailable for selection for matches against Wales and Poland that month. Walters has also made further comments about the incident since then.
The controversy was discussed during the podcast, where Keane admitted that he had no regrets about how he handled the situation. He explained that staying silent while players were underperforming would have been more regrettable.
“I wouldn’t say Martin would give me leeway, but he knew my personality and would let me bring that to the squad,” Keane added.
“I obviously had to know boundaries. I probably fell out with two players that I would have no time for because, to me, they weren’t training properly.
“I would rather fall out with them than not do my job, ignore it, and pretend it’s not happening.
“The one or two players I fell out with during my time with Ireland—I have no problem with that because they weren’t doing what we wanted them to do.
“I would regret it more if I kept my mouth shut and said nothing.”
