Roy Keane has insisted he could ‘never forgive himself’ as a Manchester United player in a furious rant about his former team after they were embarrassed by Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
United narrowly edged past the Championship outfit on penalties after squandering a three-goal lead in the second half – and nearly exited the competition in the dying moments of extra time before a late Coventry goal was ruled out for offside.
Despite making it to a second successive FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City next month, the Red Devils have been heavily criticised by pundits and fans since Sunday’s clash at Wembley, with Erik ten Hag’s future as manager hanging by a thread.
Keane, who slammed the club while on punditry duty during and after the match, has questioned whether the players and manager can recover mentally after such a humiliating game on Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet.
‘Would you ever recover from that? Seriously, as a player or a manager? You’re Man United, playing a Championship side and you’re 3-0 up. You’d never forgive yourself,’ he said to his former Red Devils team-mate Gary Neville.
Roy Keane claims he could ‘never forgive himself’ if he were a Manchester United player after his former club’s humiliating collapse against Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday
United squandered a 3-0 lead against the Championship club before winning on penalties
Coventry nearly won the game in the dying moments of extra time – before VAR saved United
Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag is now firmly on the chopping block ahead of the summer
‘There’s games we look back on now. We talk about bottle jobs and games we feel we should have won. These are the games that keep you awake at night. To be 3-0 up, you could never forgive yourself.’
‘It would have been a public annihilation for four weeks,’ Neville said. ‘The stadiums would have been pretty toxic. The criticism and scrutiny on the manager would have been horrific. It’ll still be big but I was relieved.’
Keane added: ‘I think Ten Hag could have got into the players after the game, not target individuals but say: “That was unacceptable. This is Man United, we need to do better than that. If we’re 3-0 up, we need to see the game out”.’
Ex-England star Alan Shearer suggested at the weekend that United’s new part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS had ‘already made a decision’ on Ten Hag’s future and proposed the Dutchman will be sacked whether the club wins the FA Cup or not.
The United boss came out fighting during Tuesday’s press conference, labelling the reaction to his side’s win ’embarrassing’ and ‘a disgrace’.
Keane hopes the players – who twice came from behind to beat bottom-placed Sheffield United 4-2 on Wednesday – mirror the fight Ten Hag has showed to the media between now and the end of the season.
He said: ‘The one thing I’d say about him is he’s come out with a bit of fight. I don’t mind it. The man’s entitled to his opinion – but I look at it and go, I hope your team is fighting the way you are right now.
‘It might be too little too late but it’s nice to see it. Your team didn’t show enough fight at the end when they were under the cosh.’
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New Reds Devils part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe (right) watched United’s horror show at Wembley
Keane insists Ten Hag needs to ‘get a grip’ of the players after such an ‘unacceptable’ collapse
Keane also urged Ten Hag to show more personality by ‘getting a grip’ of the players during Manchester United’s tough moments, insisting he wants to see ‘a bit of madness’.
‘Do I think he’s a good coach? Yes. Do I think he’s running good coaching sessions? I’m sure, of course he is. But the other day, when it goes 3-1, 3-2, I want to see a bit of madness,’ he said.
‘I want to see a manager on the sidelines getting a grip of people. When people are making statements or going on Twitter, get a grip of the fellas – it’s unacceptable.
‘It’s not necessarily about throwing people under the bus. There’s more to being a coach. The great coaches and managers have personalities. And they wouldn’t let that happen.’
Roy Keane and Gary Neville were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
