Roy Keane once won an £8k bet in training, but 'humiliated' a number of players

Roy Keane almost lost £8000 during his time as Sunderland manager, but managed to come out on top in a training exercise.

The Irishman was unhappy with goalkeeper Craig Gordon's form back in 2007 and decided to put his neck, plus a hefty chunk of change, on the line.

He went in net during Black Cats training and offered £1000 to any player who managed to score past him from outside the box. Nobody did.

Keane explained in his 2014 autobiography 'The Second Half': "I put the gloves on and I said that if they could get the ball past me I’d give them a thousand pounds each but, if they missed, they’d have to give me a hundred.

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"Eight or nine players lined up, and I knew that Craig and the other goalkeepers were pissed off with it. They didn’t even look at my goalkeeping skills.

"They just did their stretches. I tipped a few on to the bar, on to the post, and I kept a clean sheet. I won eight hundred quid off the players – I could have lost eight grand."

Gordon joined Sunderland from Hearts in 2007 for £9 million, the most expensive fee for a British goalkeeper at the time.

Keane believes he 'lost' the struggling Scotland international due to his actions.

He continued: "I’d embarrassed, and maybe belittled, the goalkeepers. I hadn’t meant to.

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"But I didn’t think the keeper should be beaten from 25 or 30 yards. I think I lost Craig for a few weeks, and maybe longer, because of that."

Keane resigned as Sunderland manager in November 2008 and later revealed it was down to 'differences' with majority shareholder Ellis Short and then-chairman Niall Quinn.

The former Manchester United captain last managed Ipswich Town in 2011, but did have successful spells as an assistant manager.

He worked under Martin O'Neill with the Republic of Ireland national team, as well as Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.