Eamon Dunphy joined Ger Gilroy and Eoin Sheahan on Tuesday's OTB AM to talk Roy Keane on the iconic figure's 50th birthday.
The author of Keane's controversial 2002 autobiography, Dunphy's relationship with the former Manchester United captain has endured plenty of ups and downs.
"I have huge admiration for him," Dunphy stated on OTB AM, "but I'm afraid it's not mutual."
A wildly successful book owing in no small part to recent events in Saipan, Dunphy provided an insight into the different sides of Roy Keane he encountered before, during and after embarking on the project.
"On a personal level I found him to be very decent, very funny, very normal," Dunphy recalled, the book-writing process taking place while Keane was captain of Manchester United in the early 2000s.
"He has five lovely children, his wife and his home are very welcoming and you could tell they were a very happy family. He is a very charming fella when he wants to be, when he trusts you.
"There are two sides to his character [though] obviously and there is a side of him that's cruel, harsh, illogical and still very passionate."
A book made infamous for the openness with which Keane spoke of tackling Alf-Inge Haaland during a 2001 Manchester Derby, Dunphy recalled a time in Keane's life when the Manchester United player struggled with off-field activities that had all but vanished when he came to work with him.
"Roy Keane before he settled down, before he had children," Dunphy explained, "he was wild.
"He got into a lot of trouble when he wasn't working [and] he was a big drinker and wild, not in a bad way but in a laddish way - a wild man off the field. He completely reformed himself then, didn't drink any longer and he knew for his football and his family that this was something he had to do.
"Roy didn't talk publicly about it, but he stopped drinking, changed things in his life that were causing him trouble and he showed great resolution in doing that.
"That testifies to his strength of character and it is admirable."
🗣️ 'Schmeichel calls him over, 'Irish, can I see my face in these?!''
🗣️ 'Keane says, 'His name is not Irish, it is f****** Dessie!'@gergilroy reads an insightful story Dessie Baker told about Roy Keane at #MUFC | #OTBAM #RoyKeane50@GilletteUK #BestFaceForward pic.twitter.com/tbb9Hxmk19— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 10, 2021
You can watch back the interview with Eamon Dunphy talking Roy Keane in its entirety right here.
