Roy Keane's secret visit to Man Utd training amid call for him to return

Roy Keane didn’t hold back when he made a secret visit to address the Manchester United squad.

The Irishman, who has recently been tipped to return to the club to assist Ruben Amorim by former team-mate Mikael Silvestre, was invited to Carrington by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer several years ago when the Norwegian was in charge of the Red Devils.

Keane accepted - and didn’t mince his words when he addressed the squad.

United were flying at that time; Solskjaer had enjoyed a superb start to life in the Old Trafford dugout following his appointment in December 2018 and led the club to third and second-placed finishes in the Premier League during his two full seasons in charge.

However, they were heady days compared to United’s current travails. Amorim’s side are languishing down in 14th in the Premier League and are out of both domestic cup competitions.

It has led to regular tirades from Keane and Sky Sports colleague Gary Neville about the club's overall state, with Keane recently ripping into captain Bruno Fernandes’ leadership of the team. But another ex-United player believes Keane, 53, would be a wise addition to Amorim’s coaching team.

Silvestre played with Keane during the club’s trophy-laden pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson and believes his former team-mate could help Amorim turn things around at Old Trafford if he returned in some capacity.

Speaking to Yaysweepstakes.com, Silvestre said: “Roy Keane at Manchester United would be brilliant. When he’s not in your team he’s a nightmare because he’s always going at you in the media - we’ve seen it.

“But when he’s in your team he protects the group and doesn’t go at individuals in the media. He would never do that to his own players, he’s too clever for that.”

Silvestre added: “He knows the club inside out and has a strong personality that would help Amorim and the team.”

Amorim has endured a torrid start to life at United since replacing Erik ten Hag in November - losing nine of his first 21 games in all competitions - and has faced criticism from another ex-United star in Wayne Rooney this week, who branded the Portuguese coach “naive” for claiming that the Red Devils can still win the Premier League title.

Keane, meanwhile, clashed with Amorim earlier this month over Fernandes. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane acknowledged Fernandes’ talent but argued that he doesn’t possess the leadership qualities required to captain United - prompting Amorim to leap to his skipper’s defence.