‘I performed below Roy Keane – he was by no means there so we did not have a relationship’

Pascal Chimbonda has opened up on his lack of rapport with former boss Roy Keane – who’d make once-a-week appearances at Sunderland.

Ex-Premier League ace Chimbonda, now 45, rocked up on Wearside during the 2008 summer window. By then, Keane had been steering the ship at the Black Cats for a couple of seasons, hoisting them back into the Prem and keeping them afloat in the top flight.

However, Keane’s third season at the helm hit choppy waters early on, and following a dismal spell of five defeats in six games, the Manchester United icon resigned come December. It was claimed at the time Keane’s players celebrated his exit – they were not exactly fans of his no-nonsense leadership, reports the Mirror.

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Chimbonda has now lifted the lid on the real vibe of working under the famously tough Keane, revealing that sightings of the boss at training were few and far between, making any sort of meaningful connection impossible.

Speaking to Ladbrokes Fanzone, he explained: “We never had a relationship, really. It’s not like he was someone you’d see every day; we’d see him only once in the week… when we had a game. Then, maybe, we’d see him next Thursday, or Friday, when he’d pick the team.

“But we’d never see him on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in training. You can’t have a relationship with a manager when you never see him. That’s not really something I was used to seeing, by the way.”

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Chimbonda, who had already clocked up three years on English soil before heading to Sunderland, with a standout season at Wigan followed by a stint at Spurs, noticed a stark contrast in managerial styles.

He recalled: “When I was at Spurs, for example, the manager was there every day, spending all his time on the pitch with us. For me, as a player, I want the manager to be there at training, because I want him to see everything I’m doing and make decisions based on what he’s seen. But Roy was never there.”

Despite the differences, Chimbonda harbours no ill feelings towards Keane, whom he believes has truly found his niche in punditry after stepping away from management post-Ipswich Town in 2011. “He’s a bigger name than me, you know, he’s won many, many things. It’s just that we never had a relationship,” Chimbonda remarked. “I think he’s in the right job now, as a pundit, rather than being a manager.”

He elaborated on his views about management, saying: “Like I said, I think that if you’re managing a team, you have to spend as much time with the players as you can, throughout the week. At the minute, the job he’s doing is perfect for him because he’s passionate about what he’s saying, but I don’t think he was passionate about coaching, or being on the pitch with his players, day in, day out.”