Updated at 22.52
ROBBIE SAVAGE HAS responded to Roy Keane’s recent suggestion that he decided against signing the midfielder because of an eccentric voicemail message.
In Keane’s upcoming autobiography, he says he considered signing Savage, but was put off by a message on his phone mimicking the famous Budweiser “whazzup!” ad.
And Savage admits that it probably was his voicemail message at the time, as Keane’s new book, The Second Half, suggests.
“That’s what type of character I was,” he said in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live. “That was probably my answer phone message.
“When I read it I burst out laughing. But I respect him massively as a player.”
However, Savage says he probably would not have joined Sunderland even if Keane had put forward an offer.
“I wanted to leave Blackburn, as I wasn’t getting first-team football. The financial package and staying where I could live with Derby was too attractive. So I was never going to sign for Sunderland, though it’s a massive club.
“But as a manager, I believe you should do your homework. If he’d spoken to Steve Bruce or Dario Gradi, he’d know what I was like.”
Savage also describes how he encountered Keane a number of times over the years as both a player and a manager.
“I played against him where, I thought anyway, that he didn’t have the same impact in games, as it was late in his career.
“He never told me that he did try to get in contact with me. He waited for his book, which is fine. I love his honesty.”
However, the former Leicester player said he would never be able to emulate Roy Keane’s straight-talking nature himself.
“Trust of your teammates, there’s so many things [that are important in football]. Some things you don’t put in books.
“But I’ll buy Roy Keane’s book because I love watching him on TV. He’s box office, isn’t he?”
