Lee Carsley owned up to his "selfish" attitude towards Roy Keane's infamous World Cup walkout. Interim boss Carsley, who will lead England against Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday, witnessed Keane's explosive falling-out with Mick McCarthy at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Keane, who was arguably the best midfielder in the world at the time, stormed out of the Ireland squad as a result, leaving their World Cup preparations in turmoil. The incident made headlines around the globe.
However, it barely registered with Carsley, who won 40 caps for the Irish, with the Birmingham-born midfielder seeing it as an opportunity. He once said: "As a player, you're so selfish. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if Roy was happy or sad.
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"A lot of the lads seem to have different recollections of how dramatic it was, depending on who they're talking to! It's just something that happened and that was it."
The day after Keane's exit, Carsley found himself thrust into the limelight alongside team-mate Jason McAteer. He recalled: "The press conference the next day, it was me and Jason in front of the world's press, with no prep. Nobody got prepped. Just crack on.
"It was obviously a big deal. But I probably saw it as another midfielder gone, I've probably got a better chance of playing."
While Carsley appeared relaxed about Keane's departure, McAteer has not held back over the years, repeatedly criticising Keane for abandoning the squad. Speaking to the Undr The Cosh podcast, former Liverpool midfielder McAteer said: "He decided to go home and left us to fend for ourselves. It put a lot of pressure on us.
"It became an absolute s***show. We couldn't go out the hotel, the world's media was on top of us. We were getting battered at home because the truth wasn't coming out.
"The preparations weren't great but the argument should be when you get home and have a debrief. He was at Man United with expectations, 'this is how you do it', and I get it, but then wasn't [the time] to fight. Him and Mick had personal differences anyway so that relationship was scorned already."
Despite Keane's departure, Carsley ended up making only a single fleeting appearance as a substitute in the tournament in the 3-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in the group stage. Ireland progressed to the last-16, where they were defeated by Spain in a penalty shootout.
