NEWCASTLE and England legend Alan Shearer says he would never be scared of Roy Keane as the Irish hardman’s ‘bark is worse than his bite’.
The former Ireland and Manchester United captain was involved in an infamous bust up with the iconic striker back in 2001.
Keane took a swing at Shearer, but missed, and was then shown the red card as Newcastle hung on for a 4-3 victory.
And Shearer has dismissed any suggestion that he would ever back down against the Ireland legend.
In an interview with UMM Shearer said: “Scared of him? Why would you be scared of Roy Keane? His bark is worse than his bite!
“I wouldn’t back off with Roy Keane then and I wouldn’t back off with him now.”
Shearer previously lifted the lid on how Keane had waited for him in the tunnel after being sent off in their infamous clash 20 years ago.
He wrote in The Athletic: “Towards the end of Newcastle’s dramatic 4-3 victory over Manchester United and in a moment of frustration, Roy threw the ball at me, there was a delicate, polite conversation (OK, it wasn’t either of those things), he took a swing and missed and was then shown the red card.
“When you went from the pitch into the tunnel at St James’, there were a set of steps and then you split towards the home or away dressing-rooms.
“When the final whistle went, Roy was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for me.
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“I’m pretty sure a few more choice words exchanged, there was some bustling and scrambling, but there were way too many people between us for anything physical to actually happen. That’s usually how it pans out in football.”
“Roy was never an enemy, that’s definitely not the right word but when you want to win as much as we did, things would occasionally spill over.
“We’ve worked together on television over the years and there’s never been any problem. We’ve got on well. And what a competitor and player he was.”
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