ROY KEANE’s ex-Manchester United team-mates Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford just DAYS after another infamous rant from the Irishman.
Fergie, 84, was in place in the stands always to watch United face Brighton in the FA Cup third round and was joined by two members of his Class of ’92 gang.
Scholes and Butt, who now have their own podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Football, were on the right of Ferguson in the directors’ box.
It comes just three days since Keane described his old boss as “hanging around like a bad smell.”
That came on Sky Sports after Liverpool‘s 0-0 draw with Arsenal and a discussion alongside Gary Neville and Daniel Sturridge over United’s issues after sacking Ruben Amorim.
Keane said: “Well what happens in these job interviews?
“I’m intrigued why they keep giving some people a job.
“What happens in the interview where they sit there and go 12 or 14 months later he’s not the guy for us.
“Did you not sus that out when you were speaking to them? You look them in the eye.
“You see who’s making the decisions at Man United. You still have Ferguson and David Gill hanging around like a bad smell.
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“Who’s making the decisions? [Sir Jim] Ratcliffe? [Jason] Wilcox?”
Ferguson is no longer employed by United but does attend most matches, home and away, and was also seen at Elland Road last week for Amorim’s last game, the 1-1 draw with Leeds.
Keane and Scholes regularly talk on The Overlap but Keane’s relationship with Ferguson is nowhere near as good.
The pair fell out in 2005 when Keane was sold following an interview hammering his own players and they have not completely repaired things since.
Seeing two of Sir Alex’s 1999 Champions League winning squad together without Keane may well lead to some awkward exchanges further down the line.
Scholes and Butt said earlier this season that they have struggled to get access to United matches of late.
On their pod, Scholes admitted to using touts to get tickets.
He said: “It’s a very different football club to the club we knew.
“I don’t know about you Nicky, you worked there quite recently, but I don’t really know anybody there.
“I have four season tickets so we use them, my son uses them every single week.
“You get people asking [for tickets]. I’ve had a Salford lad who wants to go to the game this week – a couple of tickets.
“So I’ve had to ring a tout? Am I allowed to say that? Honestly, I know a tout.”
Butt added that he almost lost his season ticket.
He explained: “If you don’t use them three times you get them taken off you.
“I’ve had an email saying: ‘You’re having your ticket taken off you.’
“So I rang them up and said can I speak to somebody about this please?
“And they go: ‘Who am I speaking to please?’ And I go: ‘Nicky Butt.’
“And they go: ‘OK, well who’s that?’
“I couldn’t really say it but I felt like saying: ‘I played about 450 games for this club!’”
United have responded by saying that both are welcome to go as guests.
Butt more recently said: “If [Enzo] Maresca comes in – I like him as a coach, I really do – with the background, I would give my season tickets back.”
He continued: “I can’t sit here and go on about Man united philosophy and DNA and then go: ‘Well I’d love Maresca, an ex-Man City guy.’
“Then you have Omar Berrarda and Jason Wilcox.
“I don’t care how much success is. You’re forgetting where I’m from.
“Everyone is a City fan. I’m a Man United fan and I can’t accept that.”
None of Keane, Scholes, or Butt will have been impressed to see United, now under Darren Fletcher as caretaker manager, go 1-0 down to Brighton.
The Red Devils went into the game having drawn their past three Premier League matches and just one win in six.
That run extends to only two victories in eight and then three in 11.
