Former Sunderland defender Danny Higginbotham has described a controversial speech made by Roy Keane which he calls 'one of the most bizarre team talks I 've ever experienced ' . Higginbotham and his Black Cats team-mates were about to take on Aston Villa during the 2007-08 Premier League season when Keane sat them down in the home changing room at the Stadium of Light . But instead of encouraging his players to put their poor start to the season behind them , the former Manchester United midfielder delivered an astonishing team talk . Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane ( left ) looks frustrated during his country 's draw with Poland . Keane watches his Sunderland players in action against Aston Villa after delivering his 'bizarre ' team talk . Danny Higginbotham ( right ) gave struggling Sunderland the lead during the game on December 15 , 2007 . In his new autobiography Rise Of The Underdog : My Life Inside Football , Higginbotham - who scored in Sunderland 's 1-1 draw with Villa that day - describes Keane 's attempt to motivate his players . ' '' Listen lads , ' he said . 'Basically you 're s*** . Try and enjoy the game . You 're probably going to get beat . But just enjoy being s*** . '' 'Then he just walked out . Those words have got to be insulting to any professional , no matter who they come from , and I 'll admit it served as the perfect motivation to get out there and prove him wrong . I scored after 10 minutes and we were leading at half-time . We ended up drawing . ' Higginbotham also reveals how Keane once demanded for him to swear at and criticise his team-mates instead of getting behind them . Aston Villa winger Shaun Maloney ( right ) scored a free-kick to secure a 1-1 draw for the visitors . Keane is now part of Martin O'Neill 's backroom staff after leaving his role at Aston Villa earlier this season . Higginbotham ( right ) , pictured in action against Manchester City , played under Keane for a season . Referring to a talk with Keane , Higginbotham writes : `` 'Danny , all I 'm f****** hearing from you when I 'm watching that game yesterday is f****** encouragement . That 's all I 'm hearing . '' I thought , well , that 's not so bad . `` I do n't f****** want that . I want you to tell some of them they 're being c**** . Tell them . ' '' Despite a 2-0 loss away at Bolton in the season 's penultimate game , Sunderland secured their Premier League safety with a match to spare . But although he had helped ensure another year in England 's top-flight , Keane was in no mood to praise his players after their defeat against Gary Megson 's side . Higginbotham ( left ) now works as a pundit after hanging up his boots in January , 2014 . Reliving his manager 's post-match team talk , Higginbotham writes : `` 'You 're the reason I 'm driving up and down the f****** country to find another player , you 're not f****** good enough , '' he yells at one player . ' '' Your attitude is s*** . You 're not good enough , '' he bawls at others . ' '' Next week we 've got our last home game , against Arsenal . You know at the end of the season when you walk around the pitch , thank the fans for their support ? I 'm ringing Umbro and getting you some hooded jumpers , because you 're a f****** embarrassment , it 's a joke and this is not going to stay this way . '' '
Keane covers his time under Roy Danny Higginbotham in his new book . He played for Danny Higginbotham 's Sunderland during the 2007-08 season . Danny Higginbotham told his players 'basically you 're s*** ' before a game with Aston Villa . He also told one player he was 'not f****** good enough ' to play for the club .