My Hero: Tom Lancashire on Roy Keane
Great Britain 1500m international Tom Lancashire is one of Europe’s most promising middle-distance runners. He talks to spikesmag.com about his respect for former Manchester United and Ireland international footballer Roy Keane...
“I had a friend who played in the Man Utd under-21 team. He said
in terms of the dedication he put into the training, Roy Keane was at another level compared to everyone else. And this was especially true towards the end of his career when he had a few injury problems and spent the whole day getting ready to train, just to stay healthy.
On the pitch he was always right where he needed to be, especially when he was younger and could get around the pitch a little better. He was quite an attacking force but he was one of our best defensive players as well.
My favourite memory was the Juventus game (in the 1999 Champions League semi-final).
To know you are not playing in the final (he was booked and suspended) and to put in the performance of a lifetime shows how selfless he was for the team. There are a lot of talented players but a lot of players don’t have that character.
He would always give everything he had for the team.
I remember the time when United had a couple of injury problems and he played in defence for a few weeks. I guess that in some ways shows his character, too. Wayne Rooney is the same now, in that he does a lot for the team. Last season when we had our goalkeeper sent off Rooney was the first one to want to go in goal. He just wants to play and do what he can for the team.
It takes a certain type of person to succeed in sport.
People like Keano, who do everything that they can to be successful, are so professional.
I’m sure Keano would have been alright as a runner.”
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