The Boy Who Never Gave Up ; This Evening Roy Keane Prepares for His Latest Challenge by Taking His Premier League New Boys Sunderland Back to His Roots for a Friendly. Sportsmail Finds the Locals at Cork Expecting More Glittering Success...

Summary

---

FAIL to prepare and prepare to fail. The words of Roy Keane as he shattered the tranquillity of Ireland's World Cup squad in Saipan.

The comment was one of many made by Keane on the eve of the 2002 finals. But that was the most memorable because it truly summed up his feelings at the time. Feelings which evolved from the biggest day of his young life as a footballer in Cork, where he tonight returns to guide Sunderland through their latest preparations for a return to the big time.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

The Boy Who Never Gave Up ; This Evening Roy Keane Prepares for His Latest Challenge by Taking His Premier League New Boys Sunderland Back to His Roots for a Friendly. Sportsmail Finds the Locals at Cork Expecting More Glittering Success...

Then, Keane was due to play in an FAI Cup quarter-final replay for Cobh Ramblers youth team against Belvedere.

As ever, several scouts would be in attendance on the Fairview Park pitch in north Dublin. Eddie O'Rourke, Keane's team manager, said to him: 'This could be your day, kid, you never know.' Yet the day started so badly for the entire team. 'Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,' says O'Rourke. 'The bus was late, we were late togging off. We were mangled by Belvedere but Roy was head and shoulders above anyone on the pitch and destroyed them despite the fact we lost 4-0. He was like a man possessed, even after they scored the fourth and th...

See the full content of this document

---