DAMIEN Delaney has no problem with manager Roy Keane’s angry moods, and he certainly doesn’t want to see the Irishman soften his approach.

DAMIEN Delaney has no problem with manager Roy Keane’s angry moods, and he certainly doesn’t want to see the Irishman soften his approach.

Inspirational centre-half Delaney has defended Keane’s occasional outbursts in the dressing room, as was the case after a below-par performance against Derby County on Tuesday night.

Keane’s no-nonsense managerial style has been brought into sharp focus this week.

Firstly, the Irishman kept his team locked in the dressing room for an hour after the final whistle on Tuesday night, following the disappointing 2-0 home defeat by Derby.

And secondly, former skipper Jon Walters, now at Stoke City, suggested that Town’s players were “walking on egg-shells” under Keane’s regime, during an interview this week.

“It was heated afterwards, but that’s just the measue of the manager’s ambition and what he wants to do,” revealed Delaney, with reference to Tuesday night’s post-match dressing room dressing-down .

“Players have a chance to have their say in the dressing room, it’s not just one-way with the manager.

“A couple of the lads spoke after the game. The manager was pointing out what we need to do and where we need to go.

“It’s tough to take criticism, but you’ve got to understand where he is coming from as well,” added Delaney, who will be the lynch-pin of Town’s defence against visiting Barnsley this afternoon.

Delaney believes that Keane’s big ambitions are driving him forward, and that he is right to become frustrated when the team under-achieves.

“When the manager says we are not a top six side, that’s the kind of way he operates. He likes laying down challenges for players,” continued Delaney.

“He likes questioning people and getting a reaction out of them.

“It doesn’t bother me, you don’t take it on a personal level. I’m sure if I met the manager outside football in 10 years time, he would be fine with me, it’s not a personal thing.

“When he’s having a go at you, it means he expects more from you.

“The day the manager stops having a go at the team is the day I will be worried.

“He knows we are capable of doing something, and when we don’t produce it, that’s when he gets frustrated with us and with himself.

“He gets upset when it doesn’t happen, and you can’t fault someone for that.”

Delaney, though, also gave a hint of Keane’s lighter side.

“It doesn’t linger on afterwards. Usually, by the end of his team-talks he is laughing and joking himself.

“He never carries it into the next day, because it’s not a personal thing,” concluded Delaney.