Micah Richards explains the reason behind Roy Keane’s argument with Jamie Redknapp

The pair battled on-screen before a Tottenham game

(Sky Sports)

One of the more compelling moments of viewing before a Premier League match this season came when Roy Keane and Jamie Redknapp had a heated debate on the strength of the Tottenham Hotspur squad.

The pair disagreed in vociferous fashion over how many players at Jose Mourinho’s disposal were top class or would get into another side challenging for European spots, with Redknapp rather higher with his estimations than Keane was.

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards had a good view of the pair’s argument, broadcast live on Sky Sports, and says there was a completely non-football related reason for Keane being particularly fierce on that occasion.

“He was driving down to London, but he was late,” Richards told BBC.

“He normally gets there an hour or an hour and a half before, but he was stuck in traffic and he got there 20 minutes before going on air and you could see his hair was all ruffled, along with his suit.

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“Jamie just got his anger because he was an hour later than he was supposed to be and he got the wrath!”

Richards, a regular on Sky himself, has shared plenty of on-screen moments with Keane - but says he enjoys the respect of the former Man United midfielder thanks to an early exchange between the two.

“I’ve seen his clips and he used to destroy people left, right and centre. The first clip that did the rounds was where I said I’d burst on the scene as a defender, that’s the one that went viral, and he said he didn’t know any defenders that had burst on the scene.

“I said, ‘hold on, hold on, I’m the youngest-ever defender for England, won the Premier League and won the FA Cup’ and at that moment he was like ‘OK’ – I earned a little bit of his respect.

“After that I just loved working with him because I can never compete with Roy Keane as a player, or his medals, but I can make him feel uncomfortable on camera, and that’s my strength.”