Roy Keane's brutally honest answer when asked if he was the greatest Premier League 'hard man' of all time

Roy Keane is seen by many as the ultimate Premier League 'hard man' after developing a fearsome reputation during his playing career.

Former Manchester United captain Keane was never one to back down from a confrontation and was involved in numerous fiery moments while leading his team.

From infamously snapping Alf-Inge Haaland with a horrific knee-high challenge during the Manchester derby to clashing with Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira in the Highbury tunnel, Keane took no prisoners.

But he didn't always come out on top, with Alan Shearer famously getting the better of the Irishman during a heated clash with Newcastle in 2001.

Despite that incident, Keane's name is often mentioned when discussing the hardest players in Premier League history.

But the man himself has previously talked down his suitability for that title, suggesting his warrior-like image was partly an act.

Speaking back in 2006 after he was announced as Sunderland manager, Keane said: "I haven't helped myself over the years with my image and that was part of the scene I had with Manchester United and Ireland.

"Maybe I was football mad. Maybe psycho is probably too strong a word, but football means a lot to me. It was like an acting job. I would drive up to Old Trafford for any game and I would turn into this mean machine.

"That's the way I felt - it was like going to war. That's the only way I could describe it, but then you go home to your family and try to switch off. My reputation didn't help with one or two sendings-off.

"Maybe that was just part of the picture I needed to paint for the opposition. Sometimes you can play with people's minds.

"That was part of my game. I was playing for the biggest club in the world, and had to lead by example and win at all costs."

Keane's fellow Sky pundit Micah Richards has previously mocked the United legend's 'hard man' reputation after working with the Irishman.

Keane is viewed as one of the toughest players in Premier League history (Image: Getty)

Speaking on the BBC's Match of the Day: Top Tens podcast, Richards jokingly tore into Keane for avoiding a confrontation with another notoriously tough player, Duncan Ferguson, during his playing career.

"I watched some videos because a couple of these are before my time and the reason why he slipped down to number five is because of Duncan Ferguson," Richards said.

"I was watching clips of Duncan and both Jaap Stam and Roy Keane walked away from a confrontation [with Ferguson].

"I was like, 'how hard are you really then?' Everyone did [walk away from Ferguson].

"He's the ultimate hard man because nobody wants smoke with him.

"Roy Keane let me down, to be honest, because everybody talks about him as a hard man!"