Somehow, the rage that roars within Roy Keane was suppressed, however temporarily. As the final whistle blew, sentencing his team to a humiliating and potentially devastating Champions League qualifying-round defeat, the Manchester United captain stopped to exchange shirts and pleasantries with an opponent before saluting his team’s followers and heading for the sanctuary of the dressing-room. Perhaps it was the self-help book he has been seen carrying around, but more likely, to judge from the controversial comments he has been making about his team-mates, he had seen this coming.
The criticism of his colleagues, whom he considers more interested in fame and fortune than the pursuit of silverware, may prove to be ill-judged, but, after witnessing this shambles, few can doubt that there is something wrong in the United dressing-room.