Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane is 'on the verge' of sealing a return to management with Scottish Premiership outfit Hibernian.
That is according to a report by the Irish Independent, which claims that Keane is set to hold talks with the Edinburgh-based club later this week. Hibernian, who beat St Mirren 1-0 on Saturday, sacked manager Shaun Maloney last week after just four months in charge.
Hibs' decision to sack the former Wigan Athletic midfielder came just three days after they lost 2-1 to Edinburgh rivals Hearts in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. Owner Ron Gordon claimed Maloney's appointment was a gamble that had failed to pay off, whereas Maloney felt he deserved more time.
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Maloney said: "It was my deepest desire to be able to deliver for the fans a team of which they could feel proud and inspired by. Even though the pain of our defeat last weekend remains raw, I was convinced all the more by the nature of the performance and the desire we showed even when reduced to 10 men that, given time, we would have achieved this."
Now, according to reports, Hibs have expressed a keen interest in former United midfielder Keane, who has been out of management since leaving Ipswich Town back in 2011. Although he has not been a manager since then, he has since had coaching roles at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and with the Republic of Ireland national team.
Earlier this year, however, he was linked with a return to management and a return to League One side Sunderland. He is understood to have held discussions with the Black Cats but decided against a return to the club he was in charge of between 2006 and 2008.
On his decision to refrain from returning to management, Keane, speaking back in February, told The Overlap Live: "The deal has to be right for everyone. It didn’t fall into place last week.
"It wasn't meant to be. Everything has to be right – the right challenge, the right contract.
"You have to fancy it."
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