“He was [never] laughing” – Eric Djemba-Djemba admits he was ‘scared’ by former Manchester United teammate

Former Manchester United midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba has revealed that he was scared of Roy Keane during his time at the club. He claims the Red Devils legend never laughed in the dressing room or at the training ground.

The Irish midfielder, who has now turned into a football pundit, was known to be one of the toughest players on the pitch. He captained the Red Devils from 1997 to 2005 before moving to Celtic for a year before retiring.

Djemba-Djemba was talking to the Manchester United podcast when he recalled the experience with Keane. He said that the former midfielder never laughed, and that used to scare the youngsters in the squad.

"Roy Keane was [never] laughing because he is a tough guy. He is a top man; he is a top guy, but he was [never] laughing. He would just look [at you]. [With] him, he wants to see on the pitch what you can do, that's it. I was a little bit scared because he was the captain, and I was 21-years-old. He was the captain and normally I came to play number six but I [knew] I need to wait my time to play. This is normal, but I was a little bit scared because he was hard. On the pitch, he was attacking every ball."

Djemba-Djemba added:

"Roy Keane is Roy Keane, [I can only] explain it like that. He was a nice man. He can give you advice. If you play not good, he can say to you 'you need to know what you are doing' and you know he was shouting at everybody. This is normal. But when the training is finished, when the game is finished, he can speak with you. He can give you advice. He was a top guy. He was impressive in the beginning when I saw him for the first time."

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How did Eric Djemba-Djemba and Roy Keane perform at Manchester United

Eric Djemba-Djemba was at Manchester United for less than two years before he was sold to Aston Villa. The Cameroonian played 39 games across competitions for the Red Devils, scoring two goals and giving three assists. He won the FA Cup and the Community Shield once each during his time at the club.

Roy Keane was at Manchester United for 12 years and captained the side for eight of them. The Irishman made a whopping 471 appearances for the club, scoring 51 goals and giving 36 assists. He won the Premier League title seven times and lifted the Champions League trophy once.