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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Roy Keane recalls hilarious Jack Charlton story from 1994 World Cup

Roy Keane played at his first World Cup under the management of Jack Charlton at 1994.

Eight years later, the Manchester United legend would be involved in one of the most infamous rows in Irish sporting history, but it was in America that his World Cup debut would come.

Many years later, Keane recalled a funny story from that tournament in the USA on the ITV World Cup podcast ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

He said: "When I say we were in the zone, when we played under Jack Charlton there was free time. We weren't just locked in our hotel up in some mountain.

"We were hitting the Irish bars on our nights off and we were enjoying the occasion but, as I said, in the back of you're mind, you're saying, 'We're professional footballers. We want to go over there and have some sort of impact'. Even though, as I said, we had a tough group.

"Jack always had a relaxed attitude that when you were not training, you lads, you do what you want. A lot of lads were experienced players who had the balance right - went to have a few pints and went to relax.

Manager Jack Charlton with Roy Keane in the background (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

"In America, at the time, there were great [down-time] options for us, especially in Orlando. We'd go to water-parks. Strangely enough, if you saw a player doing that now you'd say, 'That's a bit mad', but it was a great way to switch off. When you're going down a slide in Orlando, you're not thinking about a Mexican midfielder who is supposed to be playing against you.

"It was a great way to relax and chill out. And then Jack would say, back to the hotel - now I'm talking about three or four nights before a game - he'd say 'If you want to have a few pints, just take it easy'.

"You know, 10 or 12 pints and then go for it!"

Keane seemed to be joking about the amount of pints that were drank, but admitted there was a Guinness tap on the floor of the hotel where the team were staying.

He added: "But when I saw our lads go there for breakfast, it did concern me! Listen, I was the first in the bar; don't get me wrong. But that was the time, 1994. If you saw a team doing that now.... but we also had good players. Really good, experienced players that knew and always had the balance right. Honestly."

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