Eden Hazard, Belgium, 20160525Getty Images

Keane: I would have kicked Hazard over his attitude

Roy Keane admits he would have kicked Eden Hazard in training after the Belgium star publicly admitted he would be open to a move away from Chelsea.

Ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League last-16 clash with the French champions in February, Hazard sparked questions over his future at Stamford Bridge by stating that it would be “difficult to say not to PSG”.

At the time, Keane, who was working as an ITV pundit, labelled the forward a “spoilt child” and said he would “kick him up and down the training pitch” if they were on the same team.

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And ahead of Republic of Ireland's clash with Belgium on Saturday, Keane was reminded of his previous comments on Hazard before saying: “Why did I say I would kick him up and down the training pitch?

“That’s nothing personal, I would do that to anybody if I was playing with them and they were talking about wanting to leave all the time.

“It’s nothing against the lad. He’s a talented boy. I would like him to be in our group, you know.

“He’s a really, really top player. He’s maybe had a difficult season, I suppose, but maybe that's because he set his standards so high the previous season.

“Don’t get me the wrong way, I think he’s an outstanding player. But if you ask me if I was playing with anybody leave be it Nottingham Forest, Rockmount, Cobh Rambers and they were constantly talking about wanting to leave and they had a poor attitude to training, then I would kick them in training.

“But I have kind of done that with most players, I suppose, even lads who didn't want to leave."

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