Fatigued Keane could not relax at troubled Aston Villa

Nine years later, the Corkman is at the centre of another bombshell after his abrupt departure from Aston Villa.

Similar to his Old Trafford demise, however, the writing had been on the wall for some time, albeit without the same rancour.

Two months ago, a former playing colleague of the 43-year-old was privately expressing the opinion that Keane would step away from the Villa role before Christmas because of strong murmurs that the dual commitment with the Irish job was proving too much of a strain.

CONSPIRACY

That prediction was borne out yesterday and, while the divisive nature of Keane's character always lends itself to a range of conspiracy theories and rumours, the burden of two roles and the impact on family life lay at the heart of his decision.

"We had a brief discussion about the issue just at the last international get-together," said Martin O'Neill on a visit to Dublin as the news broke. "I think he was concerned about having that full-time commitment to the Aston Villa job and ourselves.

"He has decided to make the choice and, naturally, I am delighted the Republic of Ireland have been his first choice."

With a substantial break until Ireland's March date with Poland, the timing has raised eyebrows but with Aston Villa going through a turbulent period at the moment, there was no perfect moment to head for the hills.

If Villa's struggles continue to a point where Lambert was under grave 'one match from the sack' pressure, an escape from Keane would be interpreted as an attempt to desert a sinking ship.

The genuine feeling in Irish football circles that he would have relinquished his role earlier if Villa were in a healthier position.

What his actions have demonstrated is that the theory he was hovering around Lambert in the hope of assuming control were completely unfounded. That was never part of the plan.

The motivation of accepting Lambert's offer was involvement on a daily basis, and developing as a coach on the Premier League scene.

In theory, it would function as the best of both worlds in tandem with his Irish commitments. In practice, the demands ensured that the cons outweighed the pros.

Keane was leaving home for the 90-minute commute to Villa's Bodymoor Heath base around the 6am mark to ensure he was in situ to lay the plans in place for the morning training session. Observers of his Irish work have noted that he obsesses about being there ahead of schedule to fulfil his duties.

In the club sphere, that need to be at work by 8am was draining.

Midweek, he was travelling afterwards to take in Championship games for Irish scouting duties.

After a relentless six months with little respite - the release of his autobiography and associated promotional commitments was a self-inflicted increase of his workload - Keane decided enough was enough.

"I think what happened is that he didn't have any summer holiday. He went straight from international duty with us in America to the job at Aston Villa," said O'Neill. "I think eventually those things catch up with you one side of Christmas or other.

PERFECTIONIST

"Roy being the perfectionist he is, I think he wanted to give everything to every single cause. I think maybe just a little bit of family time is perhaps something he was missing."

While he was itching to get back in the game during his lengthy spell out of work post-Ipswich, the ITV pundit was also enjoying a sense of freedom around his media commitments.

The Ireland opportunity appealed as it gave him real football purpose. He attended a large amount of matches both at senior and U-21 level and will return to that scene full-time.

Keane enjoys the brief and has relished the challenge of working alongside Martin O'Neill and seeking to revive the country's fortunes on the pitch. Last month, he acknowledged that his personality is suited to the international sphere.

Still, much as the exacting schedule was the major concern, the conflict of interest created by the saga surrounding Jack Grealish's future highlighted that Keane was in an awkward position when his worlds overlapped.

His stinging comments about Grealish's father in the course of his lively newspaper briefing in Portmarnock last Sunday week did not go down well at Villa where the exclusion of Grealish from Lambert's first-team plans has become a recurring talking point.

The presence of Keane on his shoulder was construed as a positive in the battle to persuade the teenager towards the green jersey. O'Neill, for his part, appears frustrated by the entire Grealish episode.

At Villa, the flashpoint was used as a reference point for a local paper debate which asked if their number two's 'second job' was proving too big a distraction for their business.

But that had the order of priorities wrong. Ireland was always Keane's first job.

"I'm not party to his every day involvement at Aston Villa but I can only imagine he was nothing else than 100pc committed," continued the Derryman. "His role here with the Republic of Ireland has been excellent."

The box-office appointment was close to leaving for Celtic in the summer and has indicated he will listen to interesting proposals - and will doubtless be linked with whatever vacancies crop up over the winter - but he's always inferred that he is committed to seeing out the Euro 2016 campaign.

When it became public knowledge that Lambert had signed a new contract at the beginning of the season, he hinted that an extended agreement for Keane might be on the table in due course. That was classic non-committal football speak.

At that juncture, the Scot would have known that their arrangement had a shelf-life, although this parting of ways has come sooner than he might have anticipated. "In the brief period we have worked together he has been great in the role and I understand his reasons for leaving," he said.

Villa strongly refuted a Sky-driven tale that a bust-up with a senior player on Thursday had accelerated his decision. There are reasons for tension right now as a promising start to the campaign was quickly replaced by familiar doom and gloom.

Keane made headlines for lashing out at Jose Mourinho as part of the autobiography tour but, otherwise, he has actually managed to keep a relatively low profile and avoid commenting on Villa's football matters.

Darren Bent, who has left for Brighton on a 30-day loan, indicated that the sidekick remained typically forthright in his views behind the scenes but was well received by the group.

"I think he got on with the players," he said. "I think what people most respected about him is that he told it as it was, to be fair.

"If you weren't playing well he would tell you. He wouldn't hide from the fact and personally he was fantastic for me.

"I'm sorry to see him go. If you want to improve as a player you need people to tell you the truth."

Keane believed he could do both gigs and it is a climbdown from that stance to admit that it was too much of an ask.

He is only human though and, when push came to shove, he opted to be honest with himself.