ROY KEANE reckons he can pinpoint the moment he lost the dressing room as Sunderland manager and pocketed £800 in the process.
The Manchester United legend revealed his training ground trick that immediately backfired during his time in charge of the Black Cats.
Keane occupied the dugout at the Stadium of Light for just over two years, helping Sunderland secure promotion to the Premier League in 2007, before stepping down in late 2008 after a string of bad results and a fallout with the ownership.
The 52-year-old has explained one moment where he lost the support of a handful of players during pre-season training.
Keane was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, when he revealed how he "annoyed" the goalkeepers at the club by making a bet with the outfielders following a mistake by shot-stopper Craig Gordon.
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He said: "We were at pre-season, playing down at the Algarve somewhere, and Craig’s in goal – there was a free-kick, about 40-yards out – and he gets beaten.
"He had a wall out – I said, ‘Why are you having a wall for? He’s miles away!’
"I’m trying to have a bit of banter, a bit of fun – it’s pre-season – I said, ‘I’ll go in goal tomorrow lads, if any of you want to take a free-kick against me, go 20-yards out, I’m going to have no wall’
"And I said, ‘If any of you score, I’ll give you £1,000’. A few missed and gave me £100."
Keane revealed he made between £800 and £900 from the players who had a go at scoring against him the next day - keeping every effort out.
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However, it came at a cost as he explained his idea left a number of players riled up.
Keane added: "I remember the two or three goalkeepers that were together – obviously Craig – they thought I was disrespecting them.
"It was more the goalkeepers that were annoyed, the players that came thought this is a great laugh, ‘we could be getting £1,000 each tonight’.
"No one scored – I made some decent saves. Well, it was £1,000 for each shot! You can bet your life I was diving around like Peter Shilton!
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"Strangely enough, they were very slow in paying me. This is where I kind of backfired a little bit.
“The next day we had another friendly, I was thinking ‘no one’s paid me yet’.
"It was half-time, the game was 0-0 – [not the way] I was hoping it was going, so I’m having a go at the players, I went ‘Listen lads, you need to do better – and I better get my f****** money tonight! You got to pay me that money tonight, I’m telling you’.
"Eight or nine lads came up to me after the game, I went ‘It’s about time!’”
After Keane left Sunderland he went on to hold coaching roles with Ipswich, Ireland, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest before turning to a more relaxed life as a pundit.
Now fans are more used to him giving out his no-nonsense opinions on their TV rather than waging £1,000 with Premier League footballers about scoring goals.
Craig Gordon on the other hand is still playing football despite hitting 41 year of age.
The 74-time Scotland international returned to his home country after leaving Sunderland and spent six years with Celtic before joining Hearts in 2020, where he still plies his trade.
