Roy Keane had revealed he always knew he could not win the battle with Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy that ended his hopes of playing in the 2002 World Cup finals.

More than two decades after the explosive confrontation in Saipan that ended with Keane leaving the Republic's World Cup squad, the former national team captain has admitted he simply couldn't hold back in a row that had been building for a long time before the final showdown in front of his team-mates.