Football: Roy Keane may never make peace with Alex Ferguson

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert (left) and his assistant Roy Keane sit in the dugout before their English Premier League soccer match against Newcastle United at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England Aug 23, 2014. Keane's war of words with Alex
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert (left) and his assistant Roy Keane sit in the dugout before their English Premier League soccer match against Newcastle United at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England Aug 23, 2014. Keane's war of words with Alex Ferguson continued on Thursday as the Manchester United legend admitted he may never forgive his former manager for criticising him. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON (AFP) - Roy Keane's war of words with Alex Ferguson continued on Thursday as the Manchester United legend admitted he may never forgive his former manager for criticising him.

Keane has used his updated memoir, The Second Half, to slam Ferguson, who lifted the lid on his differences with Keane and David Beckham among others in his own autobiography last year.

And the 43-year-old, who accuses Ferguson of being "childish" in his dealings with him towards the end of his Old Trafford career, was once again pulling no punches at the official launch of his book in Dublin, broadcast on Sky Sports News.

Asked if he would ever forgive the former United boss, Aston Villa assistant manager Keane said after a pause: "Good question. I'm not sure, I'm not sure.

"Football is a small world and eventually, you will cross paths with people again.

"Obviously we had our disagreements and I departed, and I have no problems with that, it's fine - it's afterwards when people start coming out with all sorts of nonsense.

"For Alex Ferguson, not just to criticise myself, but other players who were part of a team that brought some good days to lots of supporters, for him to criticise that when you think of what he made out of it - he made millions of pounds out of it.

"He got his statues, he's got his stand named after him - to come back and criticise.

"I said at the time, I wasn't too bothered about myself, but to criticise people who brought him success was just ridiculous.

"Will I ever forgive him? I don't know. Listen, I don't know. We'll see if we ever cross paths again. I'm sure we will - cross paths, I mean."

Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Keane, who finished his career at Celtic after being forced out of United following the disintegration of his relationship with Ferguson, uses his book to put his side of the story after a host of controversies throughout his career.

"The stuff that has been said about me over the years, even from ex-team-mates, is a pack of lies, just lies and lies and lies," Keane added.

"Sometimes you just say, 'Listen, I have got to get up and say something myself and defend myself a little bit', and hopefully the book will reflect that.

"People are always quick to praise coaches and managers, and I've done that with Brian Clough, but the people who helped me the most from a football point of view were my team-mates. It is as simple as that.

"I've never worked with a coach or a manager where they inspired me to do something. The people I Learned the most from were the people around me - Stuart Pearce, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister."

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