Roy Keane rejected chance to sign Robbie Savage after hearing his voicemail recording
Roy Keane rejected the opportunity to sign Robbie Savage during his time as Sunderland manager because he didn't like the Welshman's recorded voicemail message.
In his new book, Roy Keane: The Second Half, Aston Villa's assistant manager explains that Mark Hughes, in charge of Blackburn at the time, had given him permission to approach Savage about joining Sunderland in January 2008.
"I rang Mark Hughes about Robbie Savage," he writes. "Robbie wasn't in the Blackburn team and I asked Mark if we could try to do a deal, a permanent or loan deal.
"Robbie's legs were going a bit, but I thought he might come up to us at Sunderland, with his long hair, and give us a lift, the way Dwight Yorke had - a big personality in the dressing room.
"Sparky gave me permission to give him a call. So I got Robbie's mobile number and rang him.
"It went to his voicemail: 'Hi, it's Robbie - whazzup!' - like the Budweiser ad.
"I never called him back. I thought 'I can't be f****** signing that'."
Savage joined Championship side Derby instead, where he played until hanging up his boots in 2011.
Keane resigned as Sunderland manager in December 2008 after five defeats in six matches, and went on to work as a pundit for ITV Football.
He accepted the position of assistant manager for the Republic of Ireland last year, working under manager Martin O'Neill, and started a similar role at Aston Villa alongside Paul Lambert in July 2014.