Roy Keane had just missed Martin O’Neill’s legendary Celtic spell when he moved to Glasgow in 2005.
But that didn’t stop the duo from sharing the same dressing room in their careers, with O’Neill as the manager and Keane as his assistant.
The most notable one was their stint with the Republic of Ireland, including guiding the nation to the European Championships.
But one spell that Keane, who won two trophies at Celtic, wants to forget, and seemingly isn’t happy about, is their spell together at Nottingham Forest and working under the controversial owner, Evangelos Marinakis.
Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty ImagesRoy Keane on working with Celtic hero Martin O’Neill at Nottingham Forest
Celtic fans would have heard about Marinakis because the Forest owner sacked Ange Postecoglou after only 39 days in charge.
That’s why that subject was brought up on the Overlap, and Keane was asked whether he had worked under the Greek owner before.
When Keane answered that he did, the legendary midfielder explained that he wished that he didn’t, but he only did it out of ‘respect’ for Celtic hero O’Neill.
Paul Scholes: “Did you work for him, Roy? Did you work for Evangelos Marinakis?”
Keane: “Yeah, I went in with Martin. Over a few months.”
Scholes: “Did you have any dealings with him?”
Keane: “One. When I was going in there. But I only went in there to work with Martin. My respect for Martin, but I shouldn’t have. But my loyalty and respect to Martin. Obviously, I made sure I had a get-out clause in the summer.”
Scholes: “Did you feel that as soon as you met him?”
Ian Wright: “You don’t want to talk about it.”
Gary Neville: “I thought you might have got on with him, to be honest with you. (Then laughs). It is sort of a good match.”
Wright: “Roy doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Keane: “No, no, no. You get vibes of people. Of course, chemistry. I was going in as the assistant manager; it’s different. I went in there to work with Martin. I went in for a few months. My plan was always to try and help Martin.
“Again, Martin O’Neill, his CV, when you think about it, and what he did at the club previously. How many games did you think Martin got at Forest?”
Overlap panel guess between 15-25 games.
Keane: “19, so if a manager like Martin is getting 19 games. What chance have you got? I had already left the club. I think they announced the new manager, I think, 24 minutes later, when Martin was still in the building. You are on about treating people properly. Blah, blah, blah.”
What happened with O’Neill and Keane at Forest
That Forest gig was the last time O’Neill and Keane were in the dugout, as Sabri Lamouchi was the man who replaced the Irishman 18 minutes after he was sacked.
O’Neill lasted five months after moving to the City Ground in January 2019, and then was booted out days before the new season.
By then, Keane had left, and it was suggested by The Guardian in 2019 that O’Neill had a ‘falling out with the players.’
But as Keane touched upon, it’s not about sacking O’Neill; it’s how Marinakis is going about it because Postecoglou was booted out moments after Forest’s defeat to Chelsea.