‘He was very disrespectful, his man-management was ZERO out of 100’: Gabriel Agbonlahor reveals how Roy Keane left Aston Villa after rows with players – and says he couldn’t cope – as he nears return as boss at Sunderland
- Sunderland are planning to interview Roy Keane over their managerial vacancy
- Gabriel Agbonlahor has accused Keane of being ‘disrespectful’ at Aston Villa
- Keane was assistant manager at Villa in 2014 in a role he lasted just four months
Gabriel Agbonlahor has hit out at Roy Keane saying that the Sky Sports pundit was ‘disrespectful’ to players during his time at Aston Villa.
Sunderland are planning to interview Keane over their managerial vacancy – 13 years after he resigned from the position and 11 years since his last job as a boss.
Keane joined Aston Villa as assistant manager in July 2014 under Paul Lambert – lasting just four months in the role before he quit to focus on the same position he held with the Republic of Ireland.
Gabriel Agbonlahor accused Roy Keane of being disrespectful during his time at Aston Villa
In reaction to his potential appointment at Sunderland, Agbonlahor has hit out at Keane’s man-management and has suggested that Keane couldn’t cope at the West Midlands side.
He told talkSPORT: ‘The problem with Roy Keane when he came to Aston Villa was he couldn’t understand we weren’t as good with the players he played with.
‘He couldn’t accept that we weren’t as good as Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and them players and just his way of coaching wasn’t the right method for players nowadays and players when he was at Aston Villa.
Keane was assistant to Paul Lambert in 2014 in a job which he stayed in for just four months
Agbonlahor felt he had a part to play in Keane’s exit from Aston Villa in November 2014
‘And just the way he spoke to players. There were times where there were experienced players like Joe Cole and he just didn’t speak to them right.
‘He spoke to them in a way that was disrespectful. His man-management I’d say was a zero out of 100 it was that bad.’
Agbonlahor revealed a time in training when the pair had a heated moment following a shooting drill.
The former Aston Villa forward claims that Keane left the club just a day after the incident occurred – believing he played a part in his exit.
He said: ‘There was a time in training when we were doing this shooting drill, so imagine all 22 players doing a shooting drill and you’ve got to pass it to five different people get it out wide then get a cross in.
‘You don’t have a shot for 11 or 12 minutes – you’re going to be getting cold you’re gonna feel like you need more shots and the standard wasn’t very good.
Sunderland are interested in interviewing Keane for their vacancy 13 years after he quit
‘The gaffa Paul Lambert says “this isn’t good enough, the standards aren’t good enough” so me as captain I came forward and backed the players and said “well gaffa you know we’re only getting one shot every ten or 11 minutes so we need to do something different”.
‘Roy Keane come forward and said “oh are you cold do you need another warm-up” and I sort of said “I’m not talking to you Roy, I’m talking to the manager”.
‘He gave me that evil stare and the next day he left. So I think at that time he left Aston Villa because of me.’