Ian Harte exclusive: "Roy Keane said he was going to f***ing smash me, so I sobered up and went to bed"
Ian Harte recalls the time Roy Keane abruptly ended a drinking session on Ireland duty
We've all know a mate with a short fuse who gets a little feisty after one too many. But it's a totally different story when that mate is Roy Keane and he's making violent threats against you during a heavy drinking session.
That's precisely what happened to Ian Harte while away on Ireland duty in 2001. The former Leeds, Reading and Bournemouth left-back made 64 appearances for the Boys in Green between 1996 and 2007 – a period which overlapped that of legendary hard man Roy Keane.
Harte admits to getting on well with his team-mate, and would later play under Keane at Sunderland in the 2007/08 Premier League campaign. Despite their good relationship, Harte remembers the night things got a little bit heated in a hotel bar.
"I was at Levante for three seasons and then I signed with Sunderland for one year," Harte tells the Players Lounge section of FourFourTwo – order the latest issue here. "I didn’t play much there but it was one of those things. I respected Roy as a player but, as a manager, he could have done things differently.
"Back when we both played for Ireland, we’d sometimes go for a drink together. After one night out, we got back to the hotel – Leeds were due to play Manchester United on the Saturday. Roy turns around and says, “Hartey, you’re a great lad. But when we play you at the weekend, I’m gonna f***ing smash you!” I sobered up straight away and went to bed. I love Roy though, I’ve got so much respect for him."
Who can blame him? We'd have gone to bed too... and probably pulled a sicky at the weekend.
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Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany's national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.