Roy Keane says some Aston Villa players were ‘imposters and scumbags’ during his time at Villa Park

Former Aston Villa assistant manager Roy Keane has launched a savage attack on some of the players he encountered during his time as number two at Villa Park.

Manchester United and Republic of Ireland legend Keane was assistant boss to Paul Lambert at the club from July to November 2014 whilst also working as assistant to Republic manager Martin O’Neill.

Keane’s spell in B6 was only a brief one as he struggled to work both positions whilst also enjoying family life – and it’s abundantly clear he relished very little of his time in the West Midlands.

Keane labelled some Villa players ‘scumbags and imposters’ at Talking at The Overlap Live: An audience with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane, at Manchester Apollo.

The 50 year-old told the audience in Manchester: “We had a brilliant dressing room at Manchester United and you assume it’s the same everywhere, it’s not.

“It’s only when you go to another club and see so-called professional footballers – Imposters - I call them.

“I went to coach at Aston Villa. Honestly, there were players at the club like scumbags. They would have been scumbags on a building site.”

Keane, who is nothing but honest in his interviews, continued: “They didn’t train properly. They didn’t speak to staff properly. Then you wonder why they don’t win anything, because they’ve people like themselves in the dressing room.

“The strange thing is, you turn up on time and train properly and they think there’s something wrong with you.

“No, you’re supposed to train like it’s the last training session you’ll ever have. They’re like, ‘Nah, not for me’.”

You can watch Keane and Co’s fascinating discussions here.

Keane’s comments may well upset some Villa fans and players from that period, but nobody can doubt his desire to achieve success.

He is Manchester United’s most successful captain having led the Old Trafford club to nine major honours as skipper.

Overall, Keane won seven Premier League titles, one Champions League and four FA Cups during his time in the north west.

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