Roy Keane: in his own words

On working with Martin O’Neill

“I would have been crazy to turn this down. There’s wasn’t one bone in my body that said this wasn’t for me. Let’s go for it.”

“If I felt there was an opportunity to work with a top manager as an assistant, I was always open-minded to it.”

“I know people think I’m a little bit crazy, but I would have been crazy to turn it down.”

“You obviously don’t know Martin as well as you think you do. He makes me look like Mother Theresa.”

“It’s not as if I’ve been a manager for 20-odd years and this (working as an assistant) is all new to me. As I said, I’m the assistant to Martin, whatever I can do to help Martin and the rest of the staff then that’s fine. I’m not on no big ego trip or anything like that.”

On meeting John Delaney

“I don’t want to disappoint you (about meeting Delaney). It was very straightforward. We want what’s best for Irish football.”

On the facilities

“It’s been a lovely few days. The hotel’s been lovely. The pitch has been lovely, no potholes. We’ve had balls, bibs, the lot. Great progress.”

On Ray Houghton’s claim that he said there were better players than himself in the current squad

“I don’t think I said that. No I don’t remember saying that (smilling) . . . maybe he had a few pints on him!”

On his working relationship with players

“Despite what a lot of people think, I generally got on with players I worked with.”

“There’s nothing to tame. I’m not an animal. I’m a football man.”

On Alex Ferguson’s criticism

"Everyone has opinions. The issue I'll have with anyone is when they tell lies about me. I'm not going to defend myself against Alex Ferguson. Today isn't the day for that."