Former Blue Pablo Couñago has hit back at his one-time boss Roy Keane for his comments in his new book, The Second Half. Keane was highly critical of the 35-year-old Spaniard in the chapter about his time with the Blues, branding the striker “dead lazy” and revealing that he almost attacked him after a game.

Couñago, who is currently playing for his ex-Town team-mate Shefki Kuqi’s side FC Honka in Finland, sent TWTD a message to pass on to Blues supporters.

The love and respect I feel for ITFC and its fans is something he [Roy Keane] will never feel.

With my best wishes to the ITFC family!

Coincidentally, Pablo spoke to TWTD last week for a forthcoming Ex-File. Asked about Keane he said: "When you are a player and go into management it changes a lot.

“I didn’t know Roy Keane as a player, obviously I knew what he did as a player, but as a manager I think he is the kind of person that thought everyone had to play hard and run, and just do as much as you can.

"I think in football that is important but when you are running like the other team and fighting like the other team the one that is going to win is the one who is cleverer with and without the ball.

"He is the kind of person who thinks he knows everything and he was never going to understand anything about what other people told him, about how we could improve another way.

“When such difficult characters go into management you have to do whatever they say or life is going to be difficult.

“He won everything as a player but when he tried to do it as manager there was nothing, he will have a chance to be a manager in the future because of what he did as a player, but not as a manager.

“After the Ipswich job he didn’t get another job for a while because the other clubs start to know what you are like, and I don’t think he will get success in football as manager because he’s not that kind of character. He’s better as an assistant because he doesn’t have to do anything and he can be kept to one side.

"When you are in football you have to do as much as possible and I always tried to do as much as I could but for me people that don’t have respect in football or have respect for you, you don’t mind if they are bigger than you or smaller than you.

"Ipswich was like a big family and there was a good atmosphere around the training ground and he changed that. There wasn’t that feeling, a good atmosphere to work in, a good atmosphere of happiness.

“I think back on the time I spent with him at the training ground, it looks sad, it looks really different and he changed things and they didn’t work.”

Couñago was sent on loan to Crystal Palace, then managed by his former Blues boss George Burley, in August 2010.

“It was a difficult moment for me because [Keane] was trying to get me out of the club,” he recalled.

“I don’t know if it was because he didn’t want me to have that good relationship with the fans, because he said to me he never understood the relationship I had with the fans, why they sang my name, why they loved me. I think it annoyed him.

"It was a big surprise for me, how it looked like he was jealous of that. For me it was like ‘what’s going on here?’, someone like Roy Keane, one of the biggest names in Manchester United history, and now he is getting annoyed because the people like me.

"In that time he was saying so many things about me, that I was training badly, that I wasn’t professional and I never said anything about that because I have respect for football. But he said things about me as a player that I didn’t like, but I had to understand them because he was the manager.

"When I heard him saying things like I wasn’t training properly and I wasn’t professional, that hurt me a lot because it wasn’t true. But I didn’t say anything bad because I’m not that kind of person, I always felt frustration because it was difficult for me.

“He was the kind of person who could have everything and was never going to be happy. They look so big and strong standing there but really they are weaker than anyone.”

Photo: Action Images

62WasBest added 16:21 - Oct 8 I think there's a lot of truth in what Pablo says. However, it might be as well to realise that Pablo's the sort of player you'd never see in a Town shirt under Mick McCarthy either - and I like Pablo, so not a criticism of him. To me, Keane's best time was at Forest rather than United. at United he became some sort of talented, but excessive, raging demon, doing things that in any other walk of life would be classified as assault. Was that the Sir Alex Ferguson effect, and did even SAF eventually realise what a monster he'd created?

8

stu_ward27 added 16:22 - Oct 8 Who doesn't love Pablo! His goal in the last minute against Coventry combining with Wickham is one of my favourite moments as a Town fan!!! Another example of how useless Roy Keane was at this club!
8

Bergholtblue added 16:30 - Oct 8 62wasbest.... you beat me too it! Pablo. love him as I do, was never the target man number 9. Which is what both 'he who cannot be named' and MM look for. Also MM would want a lot more defensive work than Counago ever offered. But boy! what vision and some sublime through balls. Interesting comments about jealously from the manager regarding crowd adulation. That was something that Cloughie was accused of. He once said about a player I cannot recall 'I can't see why the fans love him so much when he does bugger all to deserve it' and that was just after he had knocked in the winner! Having had Cloughie and Ferguson as managerial role models you can see what he was trying to do, but with no where near the degree of talent that they had.

4

tractorfact added 16:50 - Oct 8 Used to take an Arsenal fan with me now and again to some games, and he thought like we all did that Pabs had something about him. Always be welcome at Portman Road Pablo you know that, great message to TWTD, classic !!!!! :-) As for Roy not even worth it.........
4

Suffolk_n_Good added 16:50 - Oct 8 What a fantastic response from Pablo, carefully worded, articulate & expressive, I accept that he wasn't a forward who would run til he dropped, that wasn't his game, but I would never question his commitment to ITFC, he could change a game in an instant & that is why I believe he is such a cult figure with us fans, something Roy Keane could never come close to achieving, well done Pablo, best wishes.

7

Quagmire added 16:59 - Oct 8 Loved watching Pablo in a Town shirt. Many happy memories. Glad he and Kuqi are still together, a great partnership. TWTD indeed.
6

hogster1970 added 17:05 - Oct 8 well said pablo, you are a true legend in a town shirt , for one thing pabs had and that was awsome foot skills, it would be glued to his feet and he could be surrounded buy players and still come out with it and either lay it off of have a crack at goal, no he didnt run around like a headless chicken chasing the ball he waited for it to come to him, thats how the spainish play, even the great gary lineka didnt go chasing the ball, he just stood next to the center half and waited, there is alot to say about that, how many times did you see the likes of priskin chasing lost causes ended up with the ball with no bugger to pass to, pabs was a different type of player, he remids me a bit like didsy with his foot skills,

4

Bluetone added 17:08 - Oct 8 One thing this proves, if proof were necessary, is Pablo is a civilised intelligent man and Keane is not.
8

nthstd added 17:24 - Oct 8 Him and Shefki my two favorite player. Well said. Would love to see the two of them back in a legends team.
3

nunny97 added 17:26 - Oct 8 There has to be a song sung about Pablo at the next home game
6

tractordownsouth added 17:27 - Oct 8 The first sentence is enough. " the love i feel for itfc is something Keane will never feel." Says it all. Pablo is a legend.
6

Michael11 added 17:28 - Oct 8 Very well said Pablo! He's just made himself look twice the person Keane is with more class in his back side than all of Keane put together. You'll always be welcome to Portman Road, he certainly isn't!!!
4

Plymouthtractorboy added 17:31 - Oct 8 Pablo=Legend Roy=Bellend
9

aeldun added 17:35 - Oct 8 A beautiful response. From the heart, without a trace of calculation or a public relations staff's jargon. Pablo, you are a top bloke. Just watched the Coventry highlights again, for the umpteenth time. Still get chills.
6

awayfan added 17:46 - Oct 8 We love you Pablo. Thanks for all the great memories.
3

Lightningboy added 17:49 - Oct 8 Well said Pablo!
3

blueboy1981 added 17:57 - Oct 8 .......... leaving juvenile comments aside, I think it fair to say that Pablo was never the most industrious of players, therefore would never see eye to eye with Keane from the start. However, that did not detract from his ability as the player he was, and value to our Club whilst here. Do we really need to play 'tit for tat' with Keane - and lower the tone of the forum in doing so ??

-1

runaround added 18:00 - Oct 8 An excellent repost from Pablo there. It is a pity that outside of ITFC circles this clever response won't get the publicity it deserves
4

blueboy1981 added 18:03 - Oct 8 62WasBest ........ good honest post - Pablo certainly wouldn't be to MM liking in and around today's team - so we have to bring it all into perspective. Keane's best days were most definitely at Forest - where somehow he appeared much more 'controlled' in terms of conduct anyway. I wonder why ??
1

afcfee added 18:06 - Oct 8 Legend
3

beerhelps added 18:23 - Oct 8 Only one man has done more damage to the club than Keene, and the 'entertainment' he served up was shocking, however, calling Pablo lazy is not his worst crime. I don't get the 'legend' comments - Pablo never gave us enough under any manager, huge talant (and wage) that delivered too rarely. Couldnt see him lasting long under MM, another Taylor!
2

BlueySwede added 18:25 - Oct 8 Although Keane was a disaster for our club and I believe Pablo when he says that Keane was an awful man manager, I do remember back in the day that many people on here were talking about Pablo being lazy..So let´s not rewrite history altogether.
0

Pessimistic added 18:35 - Oct 8 That is why Pablo will always been one of my favourite players to wear a town shirt. He is a gentleman and a scholar as well as being a fantastic footballer who we all love and dearly miss at Portman Road. As for Keane then read my blog about him.
3

asamink added 18:36 - Oct 8 I have taken the book off my Christmas list. Don't want to give that idiot any money for writing bollox about Pablo.
2

paulthebluealien added 18:55 - Oct 8 Roy Keane was such a p***k.
2

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls