Keane the realist has little time for cup romance

The most popular word associated with cup-winning is romance. For some, like the boys from Coventry who 16 years ago won the club their only major trophy, it never leaves them. They caress it, literally. Dave Watson, the captain of the Everton side who beat Manchester United at Wembley in 1995, slept with the FA Cup lying between himself and his wife. For Roy Keane the romance evaporates "probably within four or five seconds of the final whistle," says the United captain, for whom the adage that it is all about taking part is so much propaganda.

If Manchester United win tomorrow's Worthington Cup final against Liverpool, Keane would rather not lead his side on a lap of honour. It would only distract him from the fact that, while United were winning silverware, Arsenal might have extended their lead in the Premiership to eight points.

For someone who has been one of the central figures of one of the most successful clubs in the history of the domestic game and who played for Brian Clough when his Nottingham Forest side was still capable of flickering acts of brilliance, Keane has lost or been disappointed in rather a lot of finals.

He lost two with Forest, including the 1992 League Cup final to Manchester United, with whom he has lost two more. He missed the club's greatest moment under Sir Alex Ferguson, the stealing of the European Cup from Bayern Munich, because of suspension after his heroic display in the semi-final with Juventus and his involvement in the FA Cup final with Newcastle that preceded it lasted eight minutes thanks to an ugly tackle from Gary Speed.

"People say losing in a semi-final is the worst feeling in the world but that's rubbish," said Keane. "They go on about what a great day out a final is but, forget that, it's only good if you win. Unless we win on Sunday, all the decent results against Blackburn and Chelsea go out of the window and I'm sure Liverpool feel exactly the same.

"I wish I could enjoy it a bit more but I very rarely do. That's part of my package, it just suits my character. Some players, even if they lose, can be dead relaxed about it all. If we win on Sunday, it will be great to have beaten Liverpool and got the trophy but I will very quickly be focusing on Leeds on Wednesday and I mean very quickly."

It was always like this. Even as a boy playing for Rockmount in the deprived suburbs of Cork, where they won a league and cup double six years in a row, the young Keane did not savour his triumphs. "Even the ceremonial can be a nuisance. You've won the game, you're waiting around for everybody and the officials are getting ready and half the stadium's empty; it's a bit of a nonsense. It's awkward just hanging around: you want to get on with it. It's a pity they can't give you the trophy in the dressing-room. It's true of a lot of businessmen, they get a big deal and then they're up at six the next morning trying to get another one. They just move on."

Tomorrow's Worthington Cup final is, frankly, a sideshow in United's wider campaign but the fact that it is against Liverpool gives it a wider resonance. Like Ferguson, who has never forgotten the humiliating beating Liverpool gave his Aberdeen side in the European Cup in 1980, Keane accepts that the club at the far end of the Mersey from United's training ground at Carrington are still the great enemy.

"It's the biggest game of the season for both clubs," said Ferguson, who considers that "knocking Liverpool off their perch" was his greatest achievement at Old Trafford. "It was like when I was at Aberdeen, there was only one way to be successful [and] that was to break the Old Firm. Down here the obvious target was Liverpool."

Keane, naturally, agrees. The last time these two clubs met in a final was the 1996 FA Cup, which these days is more remembered for the white suits sported by Liverpool's "Spice Boys". Keane accepts that for the neutral it was a dreadful, sterile contest, but the fact that United won it justified everything.

Nevertheless, Keane accepts that a League Cup will not make United's season. Although he appears to be a calmer character on the pitch since returning from the hip operation which took four months out of his season, he is still Ferguson's driving force in the dressing-room. Going one year without a trophy was, he said, not United's way and, should the club suffer a two-year drought, it would be plainly "unacceptable". "The European Cup, the Premiership and the FA Cup are the trophies we are expected to win. I am not knocking the League Cup but, if it were the only one we won, there would be a lot of unhappy people at the club."

It is tempting to ask how many cup finals Keane has left. He will be 32 when the new season opens in August and United's talisman does not see himself slogging on like Denis Irwin – another, very different, character who made the journey from Cork to Old Trafford. Given that he missed United's European Cup triumph in Barcelona, an occasion he could not enjoy, it is safe to say Keane will not be satisfied with anything less than another European final and, given the smoothness of their progress in the Champions' League, it may be in Manchester in a few months' time.

"The time to look back is when you retire, a few years down the line. How much longer have I got? Not a clue. After my injuries it's dangerous to talk about whether I've got three years on my contract. All I can do is look at the next match. I mean that. I can't even look ahead to Leeds on Wednesday.

"There's no doubt these operations take their toll on you. Look at people like Denis Irwin; he hadn't had an operation in his career and that's why he's still going now at 37. They catch up with you, no doubt about that and it's why I have knocked international football on the head.

"That's why talk of me going on well into my thirties is nonsense. Because of all my injuries, I think retirement will be sooner rather than later. It is very unrealistic to be think I'll be playing in my middle 30s. That's why now I'm thinking I need to get as many trophies as I can in my hands."