Irreplaceable Keane set to finish career at Celtic

Manchester United captain Roy Keane in action against Crystal Palace in March 2005. Keane looks set to finish his illustrious playing career at Scottish side Celtic after announcing that he plans to leave Manchester United at the end of the season.

Roy Keane looks set to finish his illustrious playing career at Scottish side Celtic after announcing that he plans to leave Manchester United at the end of the season.

The Irish midfielder revealed his plans in a live phone-in on United's television channel, MUTV, telling one fan of his "gut feeling that it would be best to make a clean break" from the club he has served with such distinction for 12 years.

Keane, who turns 35 in the summer, insisted that he would not move to another Premiership club, and made it clear he would like to realise a long-cherished dream of playing for Celtic, the team he grew up supporting.

"I'd like to play on for another year or two but I don't think it will be at United," Keane said.

"It would be a good experience for me to play for another team, another country, another dressing room. If I'm going to become a manager it would be good for me to experience a different environment."

Just in case Celtic manager Gordon Strachan did not get the message, Keane added: "When I say I might play for another team I don't necessarily mean an English team. I think that would be hard for me to stomach. I wouldn't fancy coming back to Old Trafford and going into the away dressing room."

Keane's comments will inevitably dismay United supporters who are already disgruntled by the extent to which the club has slipped behind Chelsea, on and off the field.

It was not clear on Friday whether United manager Sir Alex Ferguson or any of the Old Trafford hierarchy were aware of Keane's intentions, but Ferguson's assistant Carlos Queiroz recognised that the Irishman would be a hard act to follow.

"You don't replace great players like Pele, Maradona, Eusebio or Roy Keane," the Portuguese coach said. "You just create new players in new teams. That is why the game moves forward."

Ferguson has been attempting to find a long-term replacement for the player he describes as the "best I've every worked with," for several years.

Michael Essien might have fitted the bill but United could not compete with Chelsea's financial muscle when the Ghanian became available this summer.

Eric Djemba-Djemba and the Brazilian Kleberson have both been found wanting and Ferguson is currently attempting to convert Alan Smith from a forward to a holding midfielder in the Keane mould.

The Scot is also hoping that Michael Ballack, who becomes a free agent next summer, will agree to switch to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich.

In theory, United could persuade Keane to stay by hastily cobbling together a two-year contract offer before January, when the midfielder will become free to talk to other clubs.

But he recognised that was unlikely, given his age, recent injury problems and longer term concerns about the condition of his hips, which mean he has to restrict his appearances to one match per week.

United have signalled that the best Keane can expect from them is a pay-as-you-play one-year deal and he believes they are unlikely to make any firm proposal until near the end of the season.

"By then, though, I will already have made a decision in terms of what to do next," he said. "It will be too late because I might have sorted something out in January."

Queiroz would not be drawn on whether United would take steps to persuade the club captain to stay. "We need to concentrate on our priorities," he said.

"As usual, we will look at the situation at the right time, in the right way and then address it in private."