Roy Keane believes he and Sir Alex Ferguson had similar traits and an understanding of Manchester United during their time together at the club, insisting he is not bitter towards his former manager despite their relationship breaking down.

Keane, who was signed by Ferguson in 1993 from Nottingham Forest, recently stated that he is unsure whether forgiving his former manager will ever be possible following his infamous departure from United in 2005. He also claimed that comments made about him over the years were “a pack of lies”.

However, the Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland assistant manager praised Ferguson’s managerial qualities on Monday night, during a question-and-answer session in London to promote his new autobiography, The Second Half.

“Twelve and a half years, to work under one manager. I don’t want people to think I’m bitter and twisted towards Alex Ferguson, but I’m obviously going to say I’m disappointed with his comments, what he said about me,” said Keane. “I’m not for one minute playing down what he achieved. Absolutely amazing.

“I played under good managers, bad managers. The top managers get a feel for the group, they know what you need. Whatever Alex Ferguson’s strengths and weaknesses, that was by far his biggest strength.

“Me and Alex Ferguson, we had the same type of traits, of what Manchester United was about. I think that probably created the problems towards to the end. We almost knew we were coming to the end.”

Keane, whose United career ended following a controversial interview with the in-house TV station MUTV, recounted one particular pre-match team-talk which reflected Ferguson’s ability to read the mindset of his players. “I thought I knew what the group might need, that we didn’t need a big team talk,” said Keane. “It was Tottenham at home. I thought please don’t go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll fucking do them. He came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’, and that was it. Brilliant.”

Keane continued: “It could have been a European semi-final, it could have been Leeds away, it could have been a home League Cup tie – Alex Ferguson always had a feel of the group.”