Roy Keane believes that new Chelsea chief Graham Potter is one of the top three managers in the Premier League - but there was no spot on the Irishman's list for new Manchester United chief Erik ten Hag.
Keane, who clocked up 480 appearances during his trophy-laden stint at Old Trafford, was a guest analyst during Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, where he was asked to name who, in his opinion, were the current top three managers in the Premier League.
Keane replied: "Managers I like? I've always had loads of time for Pep [Guardiola]. I think what he does to his teams… I know people say he always works with the best players at the biggest clubs with the biggest budgets – blah, blah, blah – but he still has to work with them, manage them and find a style of play.
"I like Brentford's manager, Thomas Frank, I like him. I like the way he comes across. Even when they were in the Championship, I came across him. A really good guy.
"And I like Graham Potter at Chelsea. I like the way his teams play, I like the way he comes across in the media, I'm delighted he's got a chance at a big club like Chelsea. There's all this talk about if he can manage a big club and big egos and all this, but give the man a chance. He's settled in really well. Every time he speaks in interviews, I think he comes across really well. So those are the three for me."
While some pretty big names, including Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte, also missed the cut, Ten Hag was the most notable omission from Keane's three-man list. Manchester United handed the former Ajax chief the top job at Old Trafford following his impressive work in Amsterdam, but there were plenty of other names in the frame for the vacancy - including Potter.
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Potter won plenty of plaudits for the transformative effect he had on Brighton, who now play some of the most expansive football in the Premier League.
But The Athletic revealed last month that the Manchester United hierarchy has decided against approaching Potter twice due to reservations over a lack of European experience. That, however, was not a deal-breaker for Chelsea, who promptly installed Potter as Thomas Tuchel's successor back in September.
Ten Hag, unlike Potter, has Champions League pedigree and reached the semi-finals of the competition with Ajax during the 2018/19 campaign, but the Dutchman is still adapting to life in the Premier League - although he has now found his feet after a turbulent start to life on these shores.
Ultimately, only time will tell whether or not the club made the right decision in plumping for Ten Hag - but being snubbed by Keane, a man who knows better than most what succeeding at Old Trafford entails, in favour of Potter is hardly a glowing endorsement for the new Manchester United chief.
