If rule one of cracking a joke is to know your audience, Roy Keane knew his latest quip was sure to go down well as he took aim at Tottenham prior to Manchester City
The often dour ex-Manchester United captain was on ITV punditry duties for the World Cup qualifier on Friday and left colleague Ian Wright in stitches, though probably not intentionally.
Keane was busy criticising Spurs and England striker Harry Kane following his recent indifferent form at club level after his botched Manchester City transfer in the summer.
Kane soon had the last laugh, as he thumped home a first-half hat-trick to get Wembley purring, but not before Keane had delivered a brutal put down to the forward and his beloved Tottenham.
"He's [Kane] got to liven up, he's got to liven up," Keane blasted on ITV.
"He's got to look at himself and say "Get over these disappointments" - look, he plays for Spurs he should be used to disappointment, it's not like they win stuff.
"Get back to the basics, get hold of the ball, show some sort of leadership and no more excuses."
Keane's jibe at Tottenham struck the right chord with former Arsenal striker Wright, who immediately burst out laughing.
Kane was certainly in the mood at Wembley, though, and needed no second invitation to "liven up" as he fired home after 18 minutes to put England two goals ahead.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire had already headed home to give the Three Lions the lead, and they were soon running riot over their opponents.
Jordan Henderson scored just before the half hour, before Kane notched two more goals before the break to send England in 5-0 up at half-time.
Kane's hat-trick saw him break the record for most competitive goals scored by an England player (39), previously held by Wayne Rooney (37).
His treble also took him level with Spurs and England legend Jimmy Greaves on 44 - just nine behind Rooney who leads the way on 53 - a figure Kane looks certain to beat before his career is over.
You could say Kane predicted his flurry of goals, given his dismissal of his recent critics in the lead up to the clash.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, he said: "From my point of view, it's easy for people to make an excuse when you're not on form or scoring as many as you usually do and that's where it's important for my own self-belief, for my own mentality, just to work harder.
"That's always been my approach, whether I'm doing really well or the goals don't quite come - is to work hard and train hard for the team and that's what I've done my whole career.
"In this calendar year, it's been a great year for me personally and I hope to continue that on Friday night."
He certainly did that.
