Keane backs Pearce as England interim coach

Pearce was appointed caretaker manager of England ahead of their friendly against Holland on February 29, after Fabio Capello resigned from his role after successfully guiding England to Euro 2012.

Already in charge of England's under-21s and the Great Britain Olympic side, Pearce was part of Capello’s coaching staff and identified by Football Association Chairman David Bernstein as a 'first-class available option'.

And Keane, who shared a dressing room with Pearce at Nottingham Forest, agrees.

"When I was a young player Stuart Pearce was a great example to me and passion is a great word to use to describe him," the former Manchester United captain told Yahoo!

"People talk about it but it just comes through his pores, particularly when you talk about the England setup.

"I think it is certainly a good temporary choice until they appoint a full-time manager.

"Stuart has been involved with the senior team and is the manager of the under 21s. I think he will be ideal with his leadership over the next few weeks up until the Holland game."

Pearce will have his work cut out as he looks to unite a national squad divided by deep-rooted issues, particularly the conduct of John Terry - stripped of the England captaincy by the FA over racism allegations - which led Capello to believe that his position was untenable.

"The most important factor for the next manager is to get England playing as a team. I think there have certainly been problems over the last few years; I would not say splits in the camp but there is always lots of off-the-field stuff going on," added Keane.

"It is difficult for any manager because you are only getting the players for a certain period [of time] over the course of the season."

RETURN TO MANAGEMENT

Keane’s last foray into management was at Portman Road, where he was in charge of Ipswich Town for nearly 20 months following a similarly-sized stint at Sunderland.

Since being sacked by Ipswich in February 2011, Keane has been linked with a string of positions but has yet to take over at another club.

The Irishman believes this is down to how his last job ended.

"The way things finished with Ipswich, I may have to wait a while, which would be disappointing," he said. "I have been out of work in terms of a football manager for over a year and the longer you are out of it the harder it is to get back into it."

Now an ITV pundit for their Champions League and FA Cup coverage, Keane has kept himself in the limelight and hopes his next job is just around the corner, even if it is abroad.

MOVING ABROAD

As a player, Keane did not leave the British Isles – starting out at Cobh Ramblers Football Club (Cork), before heading to England where he played under legendary managers Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson at Nottingham Forrest and Manchester United respectively.

His ended his career at Glasgow Celtic, moving immediately into management for then Championship side Sunderland in August 2006.

"I am very open-minded. I think I might have made a mistake as a player [not moving abroad], but I was very happy at United.

"I had opportunities to go abroad but I did not take them, so I would not rule it out. I think you have to be open-mined when you are a coach or a manager; it is a worldwide game now. So if the right opportunity came along I would look at it."

For more insight from Roy Keane and other leading managers, plus exclusive Premier League highlights, visit www.yahoo.co.uk/sport

ByVithushan Ehantharajah

Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.