Did you know that Roy Keane knows a few karate moves? It's true, apparently when he isn't happy with the way his players have performed he does the whole ninja thing and kicks the ink out of the tactics board! Whatever happened to the good old days of plate throwing eh?!
Keane's temper tantrum was revealed by Sunderland's goalkeeper Darren Ward and if you aren't surprised by Keane's impression of the Karate Kid you will probably be surprised by the fact he has only done it once since he became manager.
That, though, is of little comfort to the unfortunate tactics board which has never been seen again after Keane's vicious assault!
Given Sunderland’s magnificent form since the turn of the year, Keane appears to have forgotten how to lose his cool because even the team talk after the defeat and poor performance at Colchester last week was restrained.
But that is just a sign of his natural ability to lead and inspire. Sunderland’s players have not let him down for a long time and one defeat, no matter how disappointing, does not suddenly make them bad players intent on discarding their manager’s instructions.
Promotion remains in Sunderland’s own hands and two wins against Burnley and Luton will ensure their place in the Premiership next season. It is not the time to rant and rave, it’s the time to comfort and encourage, to give the players the belief they need to complete the job they started the moment Keane took charge.
There was something else impressive about Keane’s approach today as well. How often do we see a manager blaming his players for a defeat, directly or indirectly? And compare that to how often you hear a manager admit he has made a mistake?
Admitting mistakes, so the old school seem to believe, is a sign of weakness. Keane, though, disagrees. Admitting a mistake can command respect, because when you admit your own, you are better qualified to point out the mistakes of others. How refreshing don’t you think?
Keane is not only willing to protect his players with clever sound bites, hard luck stories and positive public comments about effort and commitment, he is also willing to take the blame when things go wrong.
He did just that at Colchester for failing to tell his players to play for a point when they equalised midway through the second half. Instead, Sunderland continued to attack and were caught on the counter attack by Colchester in the closing stages.
It would be easy to moan about poor defending, but Keane does not let himself off the hook so easily. If only a few other high-profile managers was so magnanimous.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »