Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam wants Roy Keane back in management and has even offered to serve as his assistant. Seven-time Premier League-winner Keane hasn’t held a senior coaching role since his departure from Ipswich Town in January 2011.
He has more recently served as an assistant for the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. However, it’s been nearly six years since he last graced a team’s touchline in a professional capacity.
Stam, who clinched the Treble alongside Keane in 1999, feels the sport is missing his old comrade’s presence. And the Dutchman is so keen on seeing Keane back in action that he’s offered to be his deputy should he decide to make a comeback.
In a conversation with BoyleSports (via The Mirror), who offer the latest Champions League odds, Stam said: “I would love to see Roy Keane back in management and I’d love to be his assistant manager. I think he has the potential to be a great manager because he knows so much about the game.
“He can give a lot of individual advice to players and how they can improve, but the decision will be up to him. He is doing well in punditry at the moment.
“It’s a very different life in management, day and night, you have to be ready for the lifestyle and the club in question and the players. I’m sure he enjoys his current role but I’d love to see him in the dugout again, if he needs an assistant then I’ll be there.”
Keane enjoyed his most notable managerial success during an impressive tenure with Sunderland between 2006 and 2008. It was at the Stadium of Light that he steered the Black Cats to Premier League promotion in his first season and was named Championship Manager of the Year.
Now a well-established pundit on Sky Sports and ITV, Keane is thriving in his role in the studio. But despite this, he has hinted at a possible return to the coaching side of the sport.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap last year, he indicated he was open to the idea but emphasized the importance of the right challenge. And the 53-year-old has at least one potential staff member already at his disposal in Stam, who was his United team-mate for three years.
“I think so,” said Keane in Janunary 2024: “Not that you’re going to get the Real Madrid job but it’s got to be the right challenge, the right club, and the right contract.
“I’ve had opportunities, but sometimes you get offered a contract and you have to look at it with self-worth, is it the right deal for you? I’d like to go back in [to coaching], but I’m not desperate to sign any contract for anybody.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk