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"Wrighty - I'm not coming!" | Ian Wright's anecdote explains Roy Keane's dedication

Ian Wright and Gary Lineker have chosen Roy Keane as their number one European import into the Pr...



Soccer

"Wrighty - I'm not coming!" | Ian Wright's anecdote explains Roy Keane's dedication

Ian Wright and Gary Lineker have chosen Roy Keane as their number one European import into the Premier League, while Wright perfectly encapsulated why Keane was such a success.

Speaking on BBC Sounds, Wright and Lineker were joined by Alan Shearer, in one of the few situations where Keane and Shearer appeared to be in total agreement - centreing on a lunch date between Wright and Keane.

Roy Keane: sucker for punctuality

"Honestly, I have got so much admiration for Roy Keane," said Wright

"Even now, I have to say, we were at World Cup 2018 together and we spent a lot of time together - and I was thinking 'oh my gosh, we are really cool mates and it's fine!'

"I remember this one time I said 'Roy, we'll go for lunch' because we had breakfast so we would go for lunch. He said 'OK, Wrighty - see you at 1:15pm.'

"'No problem, I have just got to do some stuff,' I said.

"I got there, it must have been 1:17pm, maximum. I was waiting down there and I thought 'Where is he?'

"I phoned him up and I said 'Roy, I'm in the lobby, what are you doing?'

"He said 'Wrighty, what time did we say?' - I said '1:15pm, it is only 1:17pm' - he said "Wrighty, 1:15pm is 1:15pm - I'm not coming.'

"I laughed because I thought he was messing about, so I was all 'Haha - nice one Keano,' and he said 'Wrighty, I'm not coming,' and he hung up the phone!"

Keane and Shearer agree

Wright finally caught up with Keane later that night.

"I never saw him until the evening, and when I did he did one of those cheeky smiles and said 'Nah, Wrighty - this is why Manchester United were so successful - we did what had to be done on time! We did what we needed to do.'

"That is what made me think that with Roy Keane, to be under his stewardship as captain, he would take nothing in respect of failure."

Stop the clocks - we may have find that Alan Shearer and Roy Keane agree on something.

"I love that. I love that - I think it is brilliant. To be early, is to be on time. To be on time is to be late, and to be late is f*cking unacceptable!"

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Read more about

Arsenal Ian Wright Manchester United Mufc Roy Keane