Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister has hit back at Roy Keane after his former team-mate accused the club’s legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, of having a damaging influence at the club since he stepped down in 2013.

Pallister’s move to Unitedset a British transfer record fee for a defender when he signed for ￡2.3m in August 1989, with the Old Trafford club then paying a British record transfer fee to sign Keane from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1993.

The duo went on to play a part in three Premier League title successes under Ferguson, including a league and FA Cup double in their first season together at United.

Yet Keanefamously fell out with Ferguson when he left the club in acrimonious circumstances in November 2005, with his animosity towards his former manager barely waning more than two decades later.

Even though Ferguson stepped down as United manager in 2013, Keane suggested his input behind the scenes at the club remains strong, as he hinted the Scot is still influential in the hiring and firing of managers.

“What happens in these job interviews? I’m intrigued. Why do they keep giving certain people a job?” said Keane on Sky Sports last week.

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“What happens in the interview that they sit there and go, and 12, 14 months later, ‘he’s not the guy for us’. Do you not suss that out when you speak to them?

“You see who’s making the decisions at Man United… you still have [Alex] Ferguson and David Gill [former chief executive] hanging around like a bad smell.”

Those comments predictably created a stir, with Pallister suggesting Keane was wrong to reopen his feud with Ferguson, as he encouraged new United interim manager Michael Carrick to seek out the advice of his former manager after taking on the role at Old Trafford after the sacking of Ruben Amorim.

“I wouldn’t agree with Roy. I think those comments have more to do with the relationship between the two of them,” Pallister told Football365 with Spreadex Sports.

“We know there is no love lost there. There is not going to be any bouquets being exchanged between those two [Ferguson and Keane].

“He also had a little go at David Gill as well, but David was a consummate professional and a great guy to work with.

“Listen, you expect Roy to be controversial and he doesn’t disappoint, but I’m sure Michael Carrick will speak to Sir Alex about the job he has taken on and he would be mad not to.

“I always remember sitting down and chatting to Sir Alex about his difficult times and that was just after I arrived at the club and the banners were there saying, ‘Enough is Enough’ and ‘Fergie Out’.

“He was chatting about that period and told me how good it was for him to be able to go and talk to Sir Matt, who still had an office at Old Trafford

“Sir Alex said speaking to the club’s greatest manager at the time was invaluable and why wouldn’t you lean on all of those years of experience? Especially with someone who has been manager at Manchester United. It’s a difficult place to manage because the expectation is huge.”

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Pallister went on to give his verdict on Amorim’s exit, as he suggested the Portuguese tactician appeared to throw in the towel when he knew the axe was about to fall after a fall-out with Sporting Director Jason Wilcox.

“When you hear the explosion he had at his last press conference, it was probably a build up and when you hear him talk the way he was talking, maybe he’d had enough,” he added.

“You read in the papers that the decision had been made the day before and he might have got wind of it and aired his grievances.

“In the end, you have got to base it on results and his winning ratio wasn’t great and even though he was given the backing of the club, results speak louder than words.

“It was better than last year, but did we have any real confidence of getting into the Champions League slots? I don’t think so.

“What was damning in the end was the Newcastle game. We went to four at the back, we got a result and while you can say Newcastle deserved something from that game, we all waited to see what would happen next.

“Then he went to five at the back for the Wolves and people were asking why he went for that when statistically, they were playing one of the worst teams in the history of the Premier League. It didn’t make sense.

“Ultimately, we didn’t do great against Wolves and if you are Jason Wilcox, maybe it is your job to ask questions.

“The manager didn’t like being asked and I kind of get that as well because he has to be allowed to pick the players and pick the team.

“I don’t really understand what the job of the Sporting Directors is these days, but I thought they were there to help the manager, take some weight off his shoulders.

“If a Sporting Director is choosing players and deciding the team and its style of play, then might as well be the manager or Head Coach.”