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Topics: Premier League, Roy Keane, Manchester United
Jack Kenmare
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.
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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."
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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.
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.
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"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."