By CATHAL DERVAN

ROY Keane told reporters to “f**k off’ at Manchester Airport on Tuesday morning as he became the center of media attention again after allegations that he assaulted a 16-year-old boy near his Cheshire home.

Police are investigating claims from the youth that Keane grabbed him around the neck after a disagreement broke out between the pair as the player walked his dog on Hale Golf Course on Saturday, September 4, the day Ireland played Cyprus at Lansdowne Road.

As United flew to France for their Champions League clash with Lyon, Keane refused to answer questions about the alleged incident and said only “f*** off’ when asked about the alleged incident.

It is still unclear if Keane will be questioned by police when he returns to England after Wednesday night’s game.

A police spokeswoman said, “Police in Trafford are investigating reports that a 16-year-old boy was assaulted on Saturday 4 September 2004. The incident occurred on Merrydale in Hale shortly after 5:30 p.m. Inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are continuing.”

United have problems on the field as well as they lag well behind Arsenal and Chelsea after Saturday’s draw at Bolton.

Keane claimed his teammates need to get tougher. “Look at Arsenal and maybe Chelsea to a certain degree — they seem to have that mentality where they don’t look as though they are going to be beaten,” said the Corkman. 

“Teams playing us think they have got a chance now. I saw some of our fans talking on TV before the Norwich game and they were so apprehensive. Not so long ago they would be saying, ‘We are playing Norwich, bring it on.’ Things have changed a little bit, but that’s fine, it’s a great challenge for the players.” 

Ryder Wish

PAUL McGinley wants to break American hearts again in Detroit this weekend when Europe defend the Ryder Cup his Belfry heroics – and a 10 foot putt — sealed.

The Dubliner landed in the States on Monday and declared, “Sure I’m proud of myself for making the team again, but anything I say after that will be arrogance and I certainly don’t want to be arrogant.

“I remember being asked by an American TV station at the start of the week in 2002 what I would do if I had a putt to win the Ryder Cup. My response was that I’d love to have the opportunity — and having done it once I can’t wait for the chance to do it again.”

Padraig Harrington, winner of the German Masters on Sunday, and Darren Clarke will join McGinley on Bernhard Langer’s European team.

“We’ve all made it again. A quarter of the team made up of Paddies. You can’t argue with that, can you?” added McGinley.

“People insist on telling me that Darren is an under-achiever because he’s got so much talent and that Padraig over-achieves through having such limited talent.

“To my mind, Padraig is the more talented of the pair because since I first got to know him as a 13-year-old he had been blessed with a glorious short game which has never left him. It’s a short game to die for.

“For all his ball-striking skill Darren has been denied that talent. Sure, he can get hot, but he’s got to work at it.”

O’Neill Defends New Striker

CELTIC boss Martin O’Neill was quick to defend new striker Henri Camara after the Senegalese international opened his account with two goals in Saturday’s win. 

Camara has been under pressure to justify his arrival in the wake of Henrik Larsson’s move to Champions League opponents Barcelona.

But O’Neill said, “Despite what was said about Henri, I would have to say that 60,000 people here weren’t writing in to me to say he hadn’t done enough. He only started two games before Saturday and scored a couple of goals and his confidence is high.

“He was put under pressure, which is nothing new, but he will do fine, I am sure.”

As Celtic opened their CL campaign at home to Barcelona on Tuesday, midfielder Neil Lennon claimed they can go through to the knockout stages if they stop being naive, with AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk also in their group. 

He said, “We know we’ve got to pick up points away from home and we are well capable of doing it. You can put previous failures down to bad defending or bad luck, which has been a monkey on our back.

“But we’re going all out to rectify that and maybe looking to improving when we’ve gone in front. We’ve failed at the last hurdle and a couple of refereeing decisions have gone against us, but we have been naive.”

Shels Ready

SHELBOURNE received a boost ahead of Thursday night’s UEFA Cup clash with Lille at Lansdowne Road when captain Owen Heary was named eircom Soccer Writers’ Association of Ireland player of the month for August.

Heary had a man of the match performance in the Dublin draw with Deportivo but knows expectations are high for his team’s latest European adventure. “To be honest I fear Lille a bit more than I did Deportivo. I think we have a chance against Lille and people sort of expect us to do well against them,” he said.

Left-back David Cawley and winger Ollie Cahill have both agreed new deals with the Reds.

More Surgery

CELTIC youngster John Kennedy is resigned to a third operation on his injured knee in America as he bids to rescue his career.

Kennedy is booked to fly to Colorado next month for another operation under renowned surgeon Dr Richard Steadman and told the club’s official website, www.celticfc.net, “To be honest, I think it’s all but certain now that I’ll get the third op.

“It was planned anyway so it’s not like it will be a big setback or anything and hopefully it will leave me clear to push on with my rehabilitation.”

Reid Still Out

MANAGERLESS Blackburn Rovers have confirmed that Irish midfielder Steven Reid faces at least another month on the sidelines with a broken bone in his foot. 

“I’m still about a month away from being fit to play for the first team,” said Reid. “The physios have been working me incredibly hard on all aspects of fitness, but I still won’t be able to do any serious running for a couple more weeks.

“I can’t describe how frustrating it has been, and I should think it has been annoying for the club too. Ever since I signed for Blackburn I’ve had one injury after another.”

Morrison Stays

CLINTON Morrison has been told to forget about a loan move away from Birmingham after successive goals for Ireland against Cyprus and Switzerland. Blues boss Steve Bruce said, “Clinton is not going on loan to anyone. He is a valuable part of my team and a valuable part of the squad. I don’t want to lose one of my best players. 

“He has had a great couple of games for Ireland, scoring a couple of goals. Confidence is high within him at the moment. He’s not going anywhere, and certainly not on loan.”

Moynihan Ready

SEAMUS Moynihan handed Kerry’s All-Ireland preparations a massive boost when he resumed full training last Friday. 

County chairman Sean Walsh revealed, “Seamus trained with the rest of the panel on Friday evening in Killarney and then took part in a game as an extra man without marking anyone. He looks on course to take his place on the bench but it will all depend on nothing going wrong between now and Sunday week.”

Soccer Shorts

STEVE Finnan has admitted a sense of relief when the transfer window closed last week and he was still a Liverpool player. The Irish international said, “There’s been a lot of talk about a number of players leaving the club so I’m just glad the transfer window is now closed.” . . .

IRISH youth international Niall Flynn is one of four players suspended by Sunderland over alleged public order offenses. Flynn was arrested and bailed on Saturday night after an incident in the town, and the club issued a statement revealing that all four players would be suspended . . .

NEWCASTLE United have joined Celtic in the chase for former Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly, still without a club since he was released at the end of last season . . .

IRISH winger Mark Kennedy could be back for Wolves by the end of the month as he recovers from a knee injury . . .

FORMER Hoops boss Dermot Keely wants a crack at managing Shamrock Rovers again after the dismissal of Liam Buckley.