Roy Keane teases managerial return after failed Sunderland talks last year

Keane has been linked with a return to management numerous times in the last couple of years and came close to taking the Sunderland job before Alex Neil’s eventual appointment.

Speculation was rife that the former Manchester United legend was on the verge of returning to the club he lead to promotion to the Premier League back in 2007 with talks taking place between club and coach before eventually reaching an impasse.

Neil was chosen instead and took Sunderland to the Championship after winning promotion through the League One play-offs against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley. Keane was recently touted as a potential replacement for Steve Bruce at West Brom following his dismissal with his name cropping up for jobs regularly.

Keane has performed various coaching roles since 2011 including being the assistant manager at Aston Villa to Paul Lambert and also to Martin O’Neill at Nottingham Forest and the Republic of Ireland.

When asked if he would consider a return to management with the Republic of Ireland or elsewhere, Keane told The Overlap: “I don’t sit around waiting for managers’ jobs to come up – I don’t, honestly.

"So that idea of waiting for any manager to lose his job is not in my mindset. I’ve said before that I like the idea of going back in – where that happens? I don’t know. But I don’t sit around hoping managers lose their jobs. Far from it.”