THE world's media descended on Portman Road yesterday for the unveiling of Roy Keane as Ipswich Town's new manager.

Stuart Watson

THE world's media descended on Portman Road yesterday for the unveiling of Roy Keane as Ipswich Town's new manager.

Over 100 journalists and photographers squeezed into the club's media suite to witness the moment the Irishman announced his shock arrival at the Suffolk club.

Dozens of camera crews relayed the images across the globe, the national press's top writers were present and there were even representatives from three newspapers in Keane's homeland that had travelled for the occasion. News has already popped up on Al Jazeera and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Today Ipswich Town Football Club will command more column inches and air time in 24 hours alone than they probably have done for the entire three seasons Jim Magilton was in charge.

The majority were there of course, not to witness a new era for Ipswich Town, but to witness the latest chapter in the soap opera life of Roy Keane - one of modern football's most iconic and controversial figures.

Town's new chief executive Simon Clegg said earlier this week that the sight of an elderly female Town fan giving a steward a box of chocolates had persuaded him to take the job, but you get the feeling from yesterday's press conference that such 'family club' sentiment played little part in Keane's decision to join the revolution at Portman Road.

Keane's steely eyed glare - the very one which set him apart as a true winner for all those years at Old Trafford - was certainly on show yesterday. At times you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

This is a man that suffers neither sycophants nor fools gladly. On the talk of potentially being a great manager, Keane stung one national journalist with the line, “Yes, but I'm sure potentially you could be a good journalist.”

And on the subject of Town's great history, Keane stopped just short of unscrewing the pictures of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson from the corridors of Portman Road when he said, and I paraphrase: “That was then, this is now.”

It's the sort of straight talking that will continue to win Keane plaudits and critics in equal measure. Love him or loathe him - Roy Keane is in town.