Roy Keane Reveals Habit From League Of Ireland Shortened His Career

While Roy Keane is now a fixture of football punditry on both Sky Sports and ITV, we got to see him in a bit of a different role on Monday evening.

The Cork man was part of the Monday Night Football broadcast alongside Jamie Carragher for the game between Manchester United and Leeds United. The more expanded format of that show allowed him to show a bit more tactical insight than we have become accustomed to.

It also gave him more time to speak about his own career, including why it perhaps did not go on quite as long as he would have liked.

Roy Keane Reveals Unfortunate League Of Ireland Habit

Considering Roy Keane spent well over a decade at the highest level of football, it can be easy to forget that he actually retired from the game at a relatively young age. The Irishman was just 34 when he decided to hang up his boots, doing so after a brief spell at Celtic.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Keane summed up how it was his lifestyle during the first part of his career (which he picked up in the League of Ireland with Cobh Ramblers) that ultimately cost him further down the line.

They were the bad traits I had when I was younger.

Remember, I played League of Ireland. In the League of Ireland, you’d always have a few pints after the game. I can’t be somebody I’m not.

Obviously it took a bit later for me to do my cruciate to think ‘I need to start looking after myself’. I also think that was part of my journey. You do daft stuff and you learn from it, you only learn from your own mistakes, not from other people.

You have to take the good and the bad. I do see some modern players now and I take my hat off to them, they do everything perfect.

I didn’t and I’m sure that was the time we were in. After the game, win or lose you would always go out for a few drinks. When I got bad injuries I would go out and go missing for days.

I’m not saying that’s the right thing to do, but you have to make your mistakes as well. The later on at 27 or 28 you get a bit more mature and responsible, you become that better pro.

Sometimes it’s too late. Ultimately, I finished when I was 34. I finished at 34 because if my lifestyle. I was doing silly stuff, getting bad injuries, getting sent off, that all had an effect.

I see modern players who look after themselves now playing at 36 or 37 at the highest level. That wasn’t the path I was meant to go down, because I was doing daft stuff off the pitch.

Roy Keane’s habits off the pitch for the first portion of his career have been well discussed, with the midfielder not adverse to a few heavy nights out during that period. That all changed after he did his cruciate, shelving the booze altogether.

He clearly felt that was too little too late in terms of extending his time on the pitch.

Roy Keane Reveals Habit From League Of Ireland Shortened His Career

Tags: