Sky's not the limit! Why Roy Keane can revive his managerial career at Celtic and prove his doubters wrong

There have certainly been many legends of the beautiful game who have struggled to make the transition from the pitch to the dugout in the past.

The late Diego Maradona, God rest him, was the perfect example. He had spells as a coach in his native Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico with underwhelming results each time.

El Diego was, of course, a troubled soul in his later years. But Tony Adams, Ruud Gullit, Thierry Henry, Lothar Matthaus, Hristo Stoichkov and Marco van Basten, to name just a handful, all struggled to scale the heights they had in their glorious heydays as well.

There are, though, several noteworthy exceptions. Zinedine Zidane has, admittedly with an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, done rather well at Real Madrid, winning two La Liga and three Champions League titles in his two tenures at the Bernabeu.

Zizou is currently being linked with a move to France - where his old Les Bleus team mate and fellow World Cup winner Didier Deschamps has flourished during the past nine seasons – after the Euro 2020 finals.

READ MORE: Keith Gillespie on why his 'Class of '92' team mate Nicky Butt can help Roy Keane succeed at Celtic

If he does move on and take over his national team then Raul, the former Spanish striker whose Real Madrid Castilla side has impressed onlookers since he was appointed two years ago, has been touted as a possible successor.

Steven Gerrard, too, has made the switch effortlessly. He has, by his own admission, made mistakes in his three years at Rangers. His first two campaigns finished trophyless. But the Ibrox club have overachieved in the Europa League since he arrived in Glasgow and won the Premiership by a distance this term.

The ex-Liverpool and England captain and midfielder - like Carlo Ancelotti, Franz Beckenbauer, Laurent Blanc, Antonio Conte, Johan Cruyff, Kenny Dalglish, Deschamps, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klinsmann, Diego Simeone and Zidane – has proved he can excel as a manager. 

It is fair to say that Roy Keane, the Manchester United and Republic of Ireland icon who has been tipped to take over at Celtic, isn’t among that illustrious group at the moment.

His stays at Sunderland and Ipswich Town ended with him resigning and being dismissed respectively.

Fans of the Parkhead club yearn to see an accomplished, experienced and renowned coach who can get the team performing well again, challenging for domestic silverware and excelling in Europe take over after their annus horribilis.

For the vast majority of them, Keane isn’t the panacea for their ills.

Their former player may be entertaining on Sky Sports. In fact, there isn’t a pundit on television today to touch him. His withering put downs, scathing appraisals and pithy one liners invariably go viral on social media. He is worth the subscription fee alone. 

However, is his blunt approach going to get underperforming professionals who have been subjected to abuse from fans and criticism from the media in the past eight months and whose confidence is low running through brick walls for him?  

The Cork man has had his share of well-publicised run-ins with members of his squad during his time in the dugout.

When he was the Ireland assistant it emerged he had called midfielder Harry Erter a “p****” and a “c***” and had squared up to striker Jon Walters when the pair skipped training following medical advice. 

For some, Keane going to Celtic would be nothing short of a calamity.  

It is, however, wrong to dismiss the 49-year-old off as a failed manager, as an anachronism who is out of synch with the modern game, as a hot head who wreaks havoc wherever he goes.    

In the last 15 years Sunderland have had 23 managers. None of them, not Steve Bruce, not Martin O’Neill, not Dick Advocaat, not Sam Allardyce, not Davie Moyes, not Chris Coleman, not Jack Ross, oversaw as many games or won a league. 

Keane led them to the Championship in his debut season and then kept them up in the Premiership.

He also enjoyed his five years on his country’s backroom team; they qualified for the Euro 2016 finals and then reached the last 16 before being knocked out by Italy.

Keane would be unfazed by the size of Celtic, undeterred by the demands to succeed both at home and abroad and unperturbed by the scrutiny. That can be as important as being able to choose the right formation or devise a game plan.

His reputation and contacts in the game down south should help him to attract some decent signings and a major rebuilding job will be required this summer. 

He would also be ambitious to prove his doubters wrong and show that he is more than capable of doing as well as a manager as he did as a player after the disappointments he has suffered in the past. 

It may, of course, not happen. He is one of many who Celtic are interested in. But if Roy Keane is the man who they do go for then it would be foolish to write him off. It would certainly, like his Sky appearances, make for compelling viewing.