Roy Keane wants to hurt them, but doesn't mean them any harm

Roy Keane was sent off yesterday for violent conduct – a red card offence arguably entirely in character but a timing that could hardly have been more ironic.

In the dying seconds of Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Sunderland, he once more found himself in disgrace after apparently elbowing former Ireland team-mate Jason McAteer during a heated tussle in the Stadium of Light.

The incident came as Keane was mounting his latest media offensive in an attempt to rehabilitate himself following the furore over his notorious "revenge" tackle on Norwegian player Alfe-Inge Haaland.

Speaking to the Irish Times, he dismissed the lunge as nothing more than the daily cut-and-thrust of football, and urged his critics to "chill out".

"People want to hurt me," he said. "I want to hurt them. It's not the same as wanting to injure them or end their career."

Keane's intent to "hurt" was certainly in evidence yesterday, as was the animosity he admits to harbouring towards members of the World Cup squad he walked out on this summer. When asked if he would talk to former colleagues like Niall Quinn or Steve Staunton should he meet them on the field of battle, he admitted: "Probably not. I'm sure they won't want to talk to me.

"It doesn't mean that I've got a problem with them... They hurt me. They really did hurt me. I felt hurt after it. I still do."

His remarks proved prescient. At the end of yesterday's match, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reacted irritably as Niall Quinn attempted to shake hands with Keane.

Elsewhere in his newspaper interview, Keane made it clear he has no regrets about revealing in his autobiography how he deliberately fouled Haaland last year in retribution for a challenge in 1997 that put him out of action for a season.

Keane, who is being sued by Haaland's team, Manchester City, and faces a Premiership ban if the extracts from the book that have appeared in the press are borne out on its publication, said: "If I have to answer to the FA I will. If I have to go to court I will. My attitude is like 'relax everybody'. Myself first of all. It's my book."

He reinforced his remarks on the official Manchester United website, saying he was "not losing any sleep" about the prospect of the FA taking disciplinary action against him.

Keane's extensive newspaper comments displayed all the characteristic bullishness that has led to his notoriety.

At one point, he suggested that he would have liked to extend the foul-mouthed diatribe he launched against Ireland manager Mick McCarthy on the eve of the World Cup to his assistant, Ian "Taff" Evans.

"Taff hasn't been mentioned much," he said. "I can't remember ever enjoying a training session with him. The times I spoke to Taff, he never spoke to me. The only time he'd speak to me was when he was looking for autographs... or making snide comments."

He also spoke of the "hurt" he felt at the failure of any of his fellow Ireland team-mates to wish him well before his premature flight home. "I remember sitting there thinking they mustn't think that highly of me if not one of them came to knock on my door... Things like that hurt you."