Keane quiet on Vieira link

Sunderland boss would sign former foe

Last updated: 4th October 2008

800 Keane Vieira 2

Keane and Vieira clash

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Roy Keane has refused to rule out a sensational swoop for his former foe Patrick Vieira.

Sunderland were first linked with a possible swoop for Vieira, now with Internazionale, in the summer.

Now Keane has admitted that he would not rule out signing any player - even Vieira.

During his playing days, Keane had plenty of on-field battles with former Arsenal star Vieira - and infamously in 2005 they even clashed in the tunnel before kick-off.

"If I believe this player can give us something, I'm sure the board would back us. We're always making enquiries about lots of players," he said.

"How great is he? I don't know. I don't go down that road. I just know he was a bloody good player.

"He had good leadership skills, too. But not as good as mine!"

Neville blame

Keane even player down his off-field spat with Vieira, claiming it was down to his former team-mate Gary Neville.

"There is only one person to blame for that - Gary Neville. He started it and then went missing," he quipped.

"Gary had a go at nobody. Someone just had a go at Gary coming in from the warm-up. So Gary told me.

"Gary was a team-mate and I thought it was out of order. I had to defend my team-mate. I'd do it again.

"You do not go around threatening people in the tunnel but you defend yourself, especially away from home if you are up against it.

"You don't win games in the tunnel, though. You might lose them. We still had to go out and win. I think we won 4-2.

"They were great occasions against Arsenal. It was a battle, the tensions between the two teams, between the managers, the two clubs - brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

"By God, you looked forward to those games."