EAMON Dunphy has predicted that Roy Keane's job as Republic of Ireland's assistant manager will be his last role in professional football, amid ongoing controversy in the Irish camp.

It comes after Ireland full-back Stephen Ward accused Keane in a leaked WhatsApp voice message of branding Cardiff midfielder Harry Arter a "p***k" and a "c***" – leading to the on-loan Bournemouth star turning his back on his country.

Republic boss Martin O'Neill admitted yesterday that Arter's decision to make himself unavailable for international duty could be down to the row, but disputed the detail of the account provided by Ward – who was not there at the time of the bust-up earlier this summer.

In a stinging criticism of Ireland's number two, former RTÉ pundit Dunphy – who ghostwrote Keane's first autobiography in 2002 – claimed today that no club will ever hire the Corkonian in future because of his lack of people skills.

"The main thing we learned from this week is that Roy Keane is in his last job in professional football," Dunphy wrote in his Irish Daily Star column.


"After all that has come out about the way he behaves with Ireland players, nobody would touch him with a barge-pole.

"This is someone who just doesn't know how to relate to people".

Dunphy added: "Keane is finished. He should be out the door, but may be allowed to limp on for another few weeks, months or even years.

"But Keane can forget about a future in the game. He won't have Martin O'Neill to shield him forever."

Dunphy questioned why nothing was done to convince Arter to rethink his refusal of a call-up in the four months since he (and striker Jon Walters) clashed with Keane.


He also criticised O'Neill for his admission that he never names his starting teams until an hour before kick-off.

"How can players know what they're supposed to do on the field when they've only just been told who they're playing alongside?" he said.

"And it hammers home to me the fact that O'Neill and Keane can't be doing the work on the training ground.

"How could they be working on team shape and gameplans if the players don't have a clue who's playing?"