‘The truth’… Jesse Marsch says he’s really not a fan of Manchester United legend who’s very popular

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Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has taken aim at Roy Keane over how negative the Manchester United legend is in his punditry.

The seven-time Premier League champion has formed quite a reputation for himself in recent years as a pundit as a straight-talker with little regard for emotion or how people actually feel.

And speaking on the Up Front podcast, Marsch has revealed he isn’t a fan of Keane’s approach to punditry, with the American coach unsure how the former midfielder is as popular as he is.

The former Leeds manager said: “It’s always interested me that people love Roy Keane so much and his commentary because I think Roy can be kind of an a–.

“But there is something in English culture about the negative, edgy, cutting, that’s the truth. It is like he says it like it is. In America, our truth is that we believe we can achieve great things, we believe in ourselves and if people want to knock us down, we want to try more.

“So when I have positive takes on certain things, that’s not my trying to be something different or trying to be American, that’s how I feel.”

British football needs characters like Roy Keane

Football at the end of the day is an entertainment business, and the sport needs it’s pantomime villains if there is to be a duality to make all things balanced in life.

And that’s why Keane’s take on punditry is welcomed in British culture, with the United legend offering something many football fans wants to see but few figures are actually willing to do.

Indeed, whilst Keane’s approach has brought in critics, such as Marsch, the former Republic of Ireland international has his place in football punditry, which can do with a bad guy or two amongst it’s ranks.