FORMER Manchester United defender Wes Brown has revealed the "public image" of Roy Keane "isn't the truth" and insists he "loves" the Ireland legend.
Ex-Red Devils centre-back Brown, 44, spent eight years as a team-mate of Keane's at Old Trafford.
They won three Premier League titles together, as well as two FA Cups and the Champions League.
Keane, who was Man Utd captain between 1997 and 2005, had a reputation for being a no-nonsense, hard to please, straight-talking player.
And he has taken that persona into his career as a pundit.
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But Brown has claimed there is more to Keane's character.
Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone, he said: "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.
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"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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Brown joined Sunderland three years after Keane had departed as manager - having secured them promotion to the Premier League during his two-and-a-half season stint.
Brown, who earned 23 caps for England between 1999 and 2010, spent five years at Sunderland, departing in 2016.
He then had brief stints at Blackburn and Kerala Blasters, before he hung up his boots in 2018.
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