In his 2014 book The Second Half, Roy Keane poured cold water over the notion that he was still a Manchester United 'fan', so to speak, nine years after his acrimonious departure from Old Trafford.
Keane admitted he still went to watch United with his sons, but did so with little emotion, viewing the club as his former place of employment rather than a team he 'supported' during his playing career.
Last night on ITV, he essentially wrote these claims off for what many fans perceived to be at the time: bullshit.
A very hipster-looking Keane, in a seldom-seen moment of vulnerability, dissected United's current plight much in the manner of a stung United fan following the club's Europa League exit at the hands of an old enemy.
But rather than tear them asunder as he did Arsenal and City in recent days, the Cork man revealed how he felt while watching a rudderless United in 2016.
Keane: "I'm really saddened by what I've seen of United over the last year or two" https://t.co/NQ2hhgt7Q6
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 17, 2016
An almost unnervingly candid moment from the former United skipper, but the word "strangers" perhaps best encapsulates what it's like watching Marouane Fellaini kitted out in United red, his elbows flailing like a muay thai combatant of some description.
Keane's assertions certainly reflect those of frustrated United fans who feel the club is currently in the process of losing the identity it forged under Alex Ferguson - one which Keane himself played no small role in defining.
