Roy Keane has been backed to one day manage the Republic of Ireland by one of his former teammates.
But Louis Saha also believes the Manchester United legend might not be suited to modern management.
Keane has not managed in his own right since leaving Ipswich in 2011, but worked closely as Martin O'Neill's assistant with Ireland and Nottingham Forest, his last such role being in 2019. He also worked as Paul Lambert's assistant at Aston Villa.
READ MORE: Why Roy Keane will be watching Brentford vs Chelsea over Manchester United v Spurs
The 51-year-old has since become one of the most popular pundits on TV through his work with Sky Sports and ITV, but has made no secret of his desire to return to management, and has been linked with a number of vacant jobs in recent months, including West Brom.
Speaking on Sky Sports recently, he said: “I think sometimes when I do a lot of the media stuff it can leave me unfulfilled.
“I still think I have something to offer as a manager, that’s the bottom line. I still think I could do something at a club.
“You also have to be careful what you wish for. I’m not going to be a critic of what I’m doing now, I have a good life and I enjoy what I’m doing but sometimes I feel there’s something in the pit of my stomach that feels I should have another go at it.
“That won’t go away. Still at weekends on a Saturday if I’m going to matches I still have that urge to go back into it. It’s as simple as that and it’s hard to shake it off.
“I know I might not get that opportunity, I’ve had some opportunities and I count my blessings.
“If something happens, great. If not, obviously life goes on.”
And Saha believes Keane should give management another go, even though he has fears over how well suited the former United captain is to the modern game.
He told Boylesports: "I think Keane should consider a return to management. When you are a long-term pundit, sometimes you lose your quality as a manager because they think things are as simple as they see it.
"It will be good for Keane to see things are harder than what he says in his punditry. It will be good to come back to management to realise how hard the job is.
"With all the respect I have for Keane, I do think he will do well, he knows football, but his mentality might not be suited for modern football, the kids nowadays are not the same.
"Football has changed and he will have to adapt. It will be hard to address things the same way, those are the main points he will have to understand, which I don't think he will find easy.
"But when you have that much knowledge to share, it's best to share with a team on a daily basis rather than on punditry or exaggerate his opinions."
Saha has also backed Keane to one day return to Ireland as either manager or a coach.
He added: "I don’t see why Keane can’t manage Ireland again. Why not? Everyone can improve, he will have understood what has been difficult in management and he'll try to jot repeat any mistakes.
"He has all the qualities to be a great manager, he's a very smart lad and has a great sense of humour. Everyone always thinks he's really tough, but at the same time he's funny, and you can see it in his punditry."
READ NEXT:
- Ireland beat Scotland to reignite their T20 World Cup campaign
Grief lightened the load of expectation for Ballyhale's Joey Holden
Plug is pulled on prospect of November friendly involving a League of Ireland XI
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
