Dwight Yorke believes former Manchester United teammate and Sunderland boss Roy Keane could have been in the Old Trafford dugout, were it not for his 'say it as you see it' attitude.
Keane's first job in management came at the Stadium of Light between 2006 and 2008, a period in which Yorke was playing for the Black Cats. Sunderland were promoted under Keane in 2007 and he remained their manager until December 2008.
A fallout with his superior - this time Sunderland then-owner Ellis Short - led to Keane's exit. Keane went on to manage Ipswich Town before taking on assistant roles at the Republic or Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
Now in punditry, the 51-year-old is best known for his no-nonsense analysis, but Yorke believes that same attitude is what has stopped him rising to the highest level in management.
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Asked about playing under Keane at Sunderland, Yorke told AceOdds: "It was great. I saw him as a potential manager [while playing alongside him at Manchester United], you know, just because of his great leadership and the respect that he gains within the dressing room, which is what you require to be a manager.
"I've said it time and time again, Roy Keane has all the potential to be a great manager and he should have been. But Roy Keane is his own problem, really.
"He's his own problem, saying it as it is, you know, if he was a little bit more guided and a little bit more cuter in some of his approach, I think he would be the current manager of Man United today.
"Roy Keane lives and dies by the way he sees things and that's fine. And when it's when it goes your way it's great. But I loved playing under Keano, loved my time being there [at Sunderland]. Getting to see the transition from him. I learned a lot. What to be like and what not to be like."
