Wes Brown explains what it was like to play alongside “scary” Roy Keane

"He wasn’t your mate."

Former Manchester United star Wes Brown played alongside Roy Keane for several years at Old Trafford with the Irishman captaining the side early on in the defender's career. There is public perception of Keane, that he was very tough to play alongside, was unapproachable and just constantly barked orders at his teammates, handing out rollickings at every opportunity. However, speaking exclusively to Ladbroke Fanzone, the former United and Sunderland player says that there is much more to him than that.

"Roy Keane was gone when I joined Sunderland, but I love him. I think he is fair if that makes sense. When I was a kid, he was scary. Nobody could be perfect, but he wanted perfection.

"What people didn’t understand is that when you played really well, Roy would let you know. He wouldn’t just be shouting at you when you did something wrong like many believed.

"He was a captain, and he was perfect for what we needed. Keano was very clever. He worked out my character and he knew he could have a go at me and I would respond.

"However, he would take it easier on someone else who would be likely to take it hard and go into their shell if they were shouted at. I was only young and when he put in such an amount of graft, I would follow and do the same."

Wes Brown on what Roy Keane was really like in the Man United dressing room.

In terms of what Keane was like off the pitch, Brown admitted that he wasn't really your mate, but definitely not unapproachable as many would have you believe.

"You wouldn’t think Keano was approachable, but he was. He wasn’t your mate; you wouldn’t sit with him in the canteen. Not from my experience anyway. He was the captain, not your mate and that was that.

"What many didn’t realise was that if you did go up to him for a chat, he was absolutely fine. The public image isn’t the truth. Although, it would be good to know if he has ever left his phone on by accident!"

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