Roy Keane showed true character with reason for cancelling open-top bus parade
Roy Keane turned down the opportunity to celebrate with an open-top bus parade after achieving promotion as Sunderland manager.
This season, Liverpool have had time to plan their open-top bus parade after dominating the Premier League. The Reds could potentially secure their 20th league title with a draw against Tottenham Hotspur today. Anr Slot's side would then be presented with the Premier League trophy on the final day of the season.
The title celebrations will undoubtedly be memorable for the Liverpool team and their supporters, especially considering that the club's long-awaited victory in 2020 was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Keane took a different approach when his Sunderland squad won the Championship in incredible style in 2007.
Manchester United legend Keane was appointed Black Cats boss in August 2006, stepping into the shoes of Sunderland legend and chairman Niall Quinn after just four matches. Despite being at the bottom of the table, the club experienced a remarkable turnaround under Keane's leadership, losing only one of their last 20 matches after the New Year to secure the Championship title on the final day.
Despite orchestrating such an impressive achievement in his first season as a manager, Keane was keen for his team not to overindulge in the celebrations. Former Sunderland midfielder Ross Wallace revealed that Keane's decision to forego an open-top bus parade demonstrated his winning mindset, even if it wasn't necessarily well-received by all squad members.
"We beat Luton away to win the league and all the lads are in the dressing room singing, buzzing, out with the fans and that," Wallace shared on the Undr the Cosh podcast. "You could see him and his thing was thinking, 'we're not done here, we need more than this'. His mentality was, 'we're going to the Premier League.'".
Keane won 13 major honours during his time at Old Trafford. When Wallace was asked about the manager taking away the chance of an open-top bus parade, he said: "I can understand why he done it, but I just thought it was the wrong decision at the time. There were a few lads there that were probably going to move on because we got promoted. It was obvious he had a bit of money to spend, getting into the Premier League.
"I think there were a few lads that had never had that experience of winning something. It's such a big club, brilliant club. I know it's not his thing. He's won Premier Leagues and that, but I just thought, 'you've got that one wrong'.
"I just thought you've messed that one up a little bit because loads of players go through their career and you don't win anything. Even games like play-off finals, if you get beat, you get these occasions, or you win them.
"You've got to celebrate [winning trophies]. These moments in your career are few and far between. You don't get (many of) these moments, so when you do get them, especially the lads that have experienced promotions, you've got to celebrate and enjoy it."
Wallace spent two successful years at Sunderland, contributing to their promotion and featuring 21 times in the Premier League before moving to Preston North End. His one-time Sunderland teammate Chris Brown recalled how Mick McCarthy had taken a different approach to Keane when the Black Cats had clinched promotion two years earlier.
"We won the Championship to get promoted to the Premier League under Mick [McCarthy]," Brown said on the Undr the Cosh podcast. "I can't remember going out onto the pitch and getting my medal, but I can remember being on the bus on the Monday going round the town centre with 40,000 people there."
In Keane's only full season as a Premier League manager, Sunderland finished the 2007/08 campaign in 15th. The club have not been in the top-flight since 2017, but the Black Cats have already secured their place in the Championship play-offs this season.
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