Kevin Kilbane has spoken out against Roy Keane on the back of comments the Ireland assistant manager made after the national side's defeat to Belarus earlier this week.
Speaking after the loss in that pre-Euro 2016 friendly, Roy Keane said:
"Well, I wanted to kill a few of them last night, so I have moved on from that."
"Last night was a good occasion for some of the players. Whatever was said about it being down in Cork City and the pitch and it was sunny – forget that. You are playing international football."
"Control the bloody ball, pass it and move to your mates and if you lose it, run back – and run back like you care."
And focusing in on Aiden McGeady's individual performance he said, 'I think he can do a lot better but maybe that's the story of Aiden's career.'
"He's bang out of order"
Kevin Kilbane is not happy with Roy Keane criticising Irish players in public #EURO2016 https://t.co/261A2P2Cd3
— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) June 3, 2016
Reacting to those comments, former Ireland international Kevin Kilbane told BBC Radio 5 Live that Roy Keane's remarks were unwarranted.
"Someone not in the know, somebody just switching the radio on, would think they [the press] were talking to the international manager, Roy Keane is the assistant manager."
"This is the whole point, Roy Keane comes out and he questions the ability of one player within the squad in Aiden McGeady. I’ve never heard a manager come out and be critical of a player before. I’m sure its happened at times, I’ve never heard it. Having played alongside Roy, if any assistant manager that he would have played for would have come out and questioned one of his teammates or him, he would have been the first to go and knock on the manager’s door and the assistant manager’s door and say what are you doing?"
"I think Roy is bang out of order with what he said, particularly about Aiden. And again I go back to the point, he is the assistant manager, and I think maybe you’ve got to know your role. Roy is suppose to be the buffer between the players and the manager."
"The only thing that it’s going to do, it’s going to alienate Roy from the players, now I’m sure Roy is not bothered, he doesn’t care but you’ve got to have some sort of harmony going into this tournament because Roy Keane has a vital role to play with as I said that buffer between the manager and the players."
"Martin O’Neill might not necessarily want to be coming out and say the things that Roy has said, but Roy, I think maybe has just got to curb it sometimes and he can’t come out and say the things that he said, particularly about Aiden."
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