Roy Keane has the ‘ broad shoulders and mental toughness ’ required to manage Manchester United , according to his former Old Trafford engine room colleague , Paul Ince . Ince , 47 , a double-winner with Keane at United in 1994 , on Thursday hailed the Irish assistant manager as ‘ a leader of men. ’ ‘ I speak to Roy and he does want to get back in ( to management ) but at the right establishment , with the right project . Roy Keane is not a number two , Roy Keane is a leader of men , ’ said Ince . Roy Keane has the ‘ mental toughness ’ required to manage Manchester United , says Paul Ince . Ince slides in for a tackle during United 's game against Sheffield Wednesday in 1992 . ‘ And if the right thing ( job ) comes along then I ’ m sure he will get back into it ( management ) . ’ Keane was last in charge at Ipswich over four years ago but even so Ince is convinced the 43-year-old will ‘ be a top , top manager ’ and could even return to the front-line at United . ‘ To be Man United manager you need broad shoulders and take a lot of criticism . Roy has broad shoulders and he is mentally tough . Things don ’ t affect him , ’ said Ince . ‘ He has a poker face , doesn ’ t show if things are affecting him , and there is no reason why Roy couldn ’ t go back to Manchester United ( as manager ) . ’ ‘ You can not lose people like him from the game , ’ warned Ince . ‘ He knows so much about football , no matter what your cup of tea is . Ince is convinced Keane , who was last in charge of Ipswich four years ago , will ‘ be a top , top manager ’ ‘ Some people love him , some people hate him . You always try to guess what Keanie ’ s like but he does not let people into his head. ’ ‘ He ’ s got a vast knowledge of football and he sets the highest standards . You don ’ t get the players anymore with Roy ’ s standards , ’ he added . ‘ You do hear people say “ Roy rules by fear. ” Maybe , that ’ s Roy and the way he is . Maybe , that ’ s how he feels he can be a success in what he does and he did it at Sunderland. ’ ‘ Roy Keane has an ego . We all had egos at Man United because that ’ s what made us who we were , ’ he added . Ince rejected any suggestion that Ryan Giggs ( left ) might succeed Louis van Gaal as United boss . Ince rejected any suggestion that Ryan Giggs might succeed Louis Van Gaal at United . ‘ No chance , ’ he said . ‘ You ’ ve got to go to a club that you can learn from and get experience . He ’ s not ready for Man United. ’ Ince didn ’ t rule out Keane succeeding Martin O ’ Neill as Irish manager . ‘ Maybe he ( Keane ) thinks that when Martin ’ s done , then he ’ s the next one to step up . That ’ s the logic I see in it , ’ he said . ‘ International football is hard because it ’ s once every month or two months . I think Keanie would like to be on the training ground every day , ’ cautioned Ince .
Manchester United legends Paul Ince and Roy Keane were team-mates . Ince hails Keane as a 'leader of men ' Keane was last in charge at Ipswich over four years ago . Comment: CLICK HERE for all the latest Manchester United news .