Regarding his work-rate, mentality, and influence, his former teammate Gary Neville said of him: "His greatest gift was to create a standard of performance which demanded the very best from the team. You would look at him busting a gut and feel that you'd be betraying him if you didn't give everything yourself." Steve McClaren, who served as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager during Keane's time at Manchester United, between 1998 and 2001, instead said of the midfielder's competitive spirit: "He mirrors the manager on the pitch. They are winners." Regarding Keane's complex character, despite his intensity on the pitch, Sean O'Hagan of "The Guardian" wrote in 2002 that he is "...a committed and confident warrior on the field, a shy, socially awkward, and often lonely introvert off it."