Former Premier League manager calls out Roy Keane for a fight and says the former Man Utd captain 'is not as tough as he makes out'

Roy Keane isn't as tough as he makes out, according to a former Premier League manager, who says he "wouldn't mind fighting" the ex-Manchester United captain.

Renowned for his no-nonsense approach during a 17-year playing career, Keane has since brought that brutal edge to the punditry world, delivering fiery analysis on a weekly basis.

He is considered one of football's last hard men but former Spurs, Portsmouth and Southampton manager Harry Redknapp reckons he could take Keane in a fight.

No, seriously. Redknapp was making an appearance on the Soccer PM YouTube channel when he was asked which former Premier League players he could beat in the ring.

The 77-year-old also backed himself to beat a number of former footballers in a fight, including Michael Owen, Gareth Southgate and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

But it was his comments about Keane that raised the most eyebrows.

"I don't think Roy Keane is as tough as he makes out. It's all bravado," Redknapp said with a straight face. "I love Roy Keane but I wouldn't mind fighting him, actually."

He also claimed he could secure a victory over Paul Scholes but said he wouldn't want to spar with the former Manchester United midfielder. "I love him," he added. "What a footballer."

Alan Shearer recently played down a potential boxing fight between him and former Manchester United captain Keane after they came to blows on several occasions throughout the late 90's and early 00's.

Image credit: Soccer PM/YouTube

In fact, the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer said he "didn't like" the United midfielder when they both played, and once referred back to a clash in September 2001 when the Irishman was sent off for throwing a punch at Shearer.

"I had loads of rucks with him and I wasn't the only one. It was a throw-in in the far corner where I stopped him taking an early throw," he said on the Match of the Day podcast.

"We were beating them at St. James' Park and he wanted to take a quick throw-in and he'd been at me all game as he normally was.

"It was about three of four minutes before the end of the game. I can't remember exactly what I said, I called him some sort of name."