Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill would like to see assistant Roy Keane reconcile with former boss Alex Ferguson.

As a manager and captain combination at Manchester United, Ferguson and Keane were one of the most successful partnerships the game has seen, winning seven Premier Leagues and a Champions League together.

Their relations have grown increasingly sour, though, with fall-outs common since Keane left Old Trafford in 2005.

Their respective autobiographies also increased tensions, but O’Neill wants the two men to put their differences to bed.

Quoted in The Guardian, he said: “Manchester United have been incredibly successful and these men were two fundamental factors in this.

“The manager’s obviously very important, having been able to oversee success for such a considerable amount of time. To stay at any football club for such a length of time is incredible; to stay at a club like Manchester United that was demanding then sustaining such success is even more so.

“Roy Keane was a vital cog in that. If you were to ask Sir Alex Ferguson, I’d bet one of the top three or four signings he made would be Roy Keane. And he signed some very fine players. That’s how important Roy was to him.

“The two of them were brilliant for each other over a number of years and I think that’s something that shouldn’t be forgotten over time.

“People can have their arguments and who am I to step into anyone else’s argument, who am I to intervene? I’m not [doing] that, but what I maintain is that the two of them were magnificent for each other and from an outsider’s viewpoint it’d be nice if at some stage or another they recognise that publicly.

“I know that deep down they know they were superb for each other.”