Roy Keane details how Solskjaer stood up for him before Man United exit

Roy Keane has explained his loyalty towards Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and revealed how his former team-mate stood up for him during his final few days at Manchester United

Keane, along with fellow pundit and former team-mate Gary Neville, was accused by some fans this season of showing too much support to Solskjaer — who was sacked as United boss on Sunday.

All three played together for almost a decade at Old Trafford, before Keane’s infamous departure following a fall-out with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Having announced that he saw his future elsewhere, the Irishman was stripped of the captaincy before he eventually left the club, going on to sign for Celtic.

Before his departure, things came to a head when Keane fought back against Ferguson during a final team meeting, before angrily leaving the room.

As Keane continued to be spoken about, Solskjaer, along with Paul Scholes, stood up as they prepared to leave the room, only for Ferguson to tell them: “Don’t you follow him”.

Solskjaer nevertheless left the room as he showed solidarity with his former captain.

Keane insists the incident hasn’t affected his analysis of Solskjaer this season — although it has played a part in his loyalty the Norwegian.

“I think I respected him before that, I don’t think he and Scholesy went up another level after that,” Keane said in an interview with The Times.

“I’d really forgotten about them walking out of the meeting until now.

“My loyalty to Ole, or Scholesy, or Nicky Butt, or Giggsy or Nev [Gary Neville] is not down to one incident but to what we did together over a number of years.

“Because I’ve been a coach and a manager, I know how hard it is but I don’t feel for one second I am going out of my way to help or defend Ole. What he did in leaving that meeting, I would have done for him. You do the right thing.”

Keane added: “All my true friendships are from football, from being a kid at school, to a few lads at Rockmount [his boyhood club in Cork], then [Nottingham] Forest and United, I’ll go to a Salford game and see Butty [Nicky Butt], Scholesy, Giggsy, Nev. Have a cup of tea with them . . . I love to see my old mates.”

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