Roy Keane has revealed how a £1,000 ($1,274) bet with players when he was Sunderland’s manager led to him losing the dressing room. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Roy Keane is never far from confrontation and he revealed a funny story during a recent podcast about how he annoyed a big signing when managing Sunderland FC. Craig Gordon joined the club in 2007 from Heart of Midlothian for what was then a record £9m ($11.5m) price tag for a goalkeeper in Britain.

It didn’t take long for the manager to stamp his authority, going after Gordon following a poor pre-season game performance where he got beaten by a long free kick.

he would step into the goals and give anyone who scored £1,000 ($1,274)

The Irishman told his players during the next training session that he would step into the goals and give anyone who scored £1,000 ($1,274). They would have to pay him £100 ($127) if they missed.

About eight or nine of his players lined up approximately 25 or 30 yards from the goal to try to get the ball past their manager. Keane finished the session £800 ($1,019) or £900 ($1,147) richer after “diving around like Peter Shilton.”

While he walked away with the money that day, he said that he “probably lost the dressing room” in the process as the goalkeepers felt disrespected.