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LONDON. — Roy Keane says Brian Clough was a better soccer manager than Sir Alex Ferguson. Keane was signed by Clough for Nottingham Forest in 1990 and spent three years at the club before Ferguson broke the then British transfer record to bring him to Old Trafford for £3,75 million.
Keane would go on to become Manchester United captain and win seven English Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League under Ferguson.

But, in his new autobiography The Second Half, Keane says he still rates Clough as the better of the two, claiming Ferguson was “pure business” and lacked warmth.

“I worked under two great managers and I put Brian Clough ahead of Alex Ferguson for a simple reason. What was the most important thing in my football career? Brian Clough signing me. That kick started everything,” he writes.

“Different managers, both brilliant. I think Clough’s warmth was genuine. I think with Sir Alex Ferguson it was pure business — everything is business. If he was being nice I would think: ‘This is business, this’. “He was driven and ruthless. That lack of warmth was his strength. United was a much bigger club than Forest but his coldness made him successful.

“His message was the same. I was never once confused by one of his team talks or his tactics or his training. The message was always fresh. I must have heard him talk 500 times and I always thought: ‘Yeah, that was good’.

“I think that’s amazing. As a manager I would take Clough’s warmth and Ferguson’s ruthlessness and put them in the mix — but also add my own traits.”

Keane’s relationship with the most decorated manager in English football deteriorated towards the end of his career at United.

Keane, now assistant manager at Aston Villa, left United in 2005 after he criticised his teammates to MUTV after a 4-1 defeat to Middlesborough. That explosive interview — which Keane describes as “not too bad” in his new book — led to a furious training ground bust up with Ferguson, assistant boss Carlos Queiroz and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Queiroz accused Keane of showing a lack of loyalty to his teammates and when Ferguson stepped in to diffuse the situation, Keane said: “You as well gaffer. We need f****** more from you. We need a bit more, gaffer. We’re slipping behind other teams.”

A few weeks later, Keane was left out of a reserve game and when he questioned Ferguson about it he was told he could leave the club.

The pair’s relationship has never recovered and Keane described it as “non existent” in an ITV documentary last year — in which he also said “Brian Clough, without a doubt” was the best manager he played for.

He added: “I never thought for a second that I was more important than the manager. Absolute nonsense.

“There were no surprises (in Ferguson’s new book, which came out in 2013). He accused me of managing United behind his back, but I managed the dressing room.”

On the pair’s relationship Keane said: “Non existent. Nothing surprises me these days with that man. “Control and power, that’s how he works. He is still striving for it now even though he isn’t the manager. There is a massive ego involved.”

In contrast, Keane has always spoken fondly of Clough. While he has accused Ferguson of not “knowing the meaning of loyalty”, he says Clough always treated him with respect. — Mailonline.