Jose Mourinho Won't Lose Sleep over Roy Keane Barb, They Are on Different Levels

“You wouldn’t do that on a Sunday morning, you would get knocked out,” Roy Keane said this week when asked about his recent refusal to shake hands with Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea were beating Keane's Aston Villa 3-0 and Mourinho was leaving the game early, offering his hand to Paul Lambert and his assistant manager before disappearing down the tunnel at Stamford Bridge.

"I don’t mind all that [mind games] but the game is still going on. It’s disgraceful. I’ve seen him doing it to other managers; it is a disgrace," Keane added in his interview with The Guardian.

He has a point, but then this is Roy Keane, the very person who, during his playing days, behaved in ways arguably more disgraceful than Mourinho's offer of a handshake before the referee blew his final whistle in a match.

There's that infamous challenge on Manchester City's Alf Inge Haaland for starters—needless to say plenty of other players—intimidation of referees and the 2002 World Cup when Keane turned his back on the Republic of Ireland after his disapproval of manager Mick McCarthy's methods.

Some might say he would have got "knocked out" for any of the above on a Sunday morning.

"You're a f-----g w----r. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person. You're a f-----g w----r and you can stick your World Cup up your a--e," Keane is reported to have ranted at McCarthy, per The Guardian.

Indeed, there are more examples from his past that can be dragged up, reinforcing the notion that of anyone, it's rich for Keane to be labeling Mourinho or any other manager a disgrace.

Gary M. Prior/Getty Images

His rap sheet is extensive, hence why there is so much interest in the release of his second autobiography where Keane is offering his side of the many stories doing the rounds about him.

But these days, Keane the coach, manager, assistant—label him what you will—carries far less clout than he did as a player.

There were many who tried, but failed, to master him during his 12 years at Old Trafford. He was ruthless, the driving force behind Manchester United's Premier League dominance. A truly great player.

Greatness on the pitch doesn't always transfer to the dug out, though, and since his retirement in 2006, Keane has joined the very long list of football legends to try and fail in management.

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

He showed signs of potential at Sunderland, but ultimately failed at the Stadium of Light. When he was appointed Ipswich Town boss in 2009, he didn't fare much better, failing to get the club out of the Championship.

If we're talking Keane in the modern era, he's hardly headline news. He'll always attract attention for what he achieved as a player, but now? His time has been and gone.

Mourinho knows that and so do a lot of other people.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been scathing of Keane's character in an autobiography of his own, but Mourinho need not react to his latest outburst. He shouldn't care, either.

Why should he?

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Keane is a man trading on his past—a fact the release of his latest autobiography confirms all the more.

The interest isn't about now, it's about what happened when he came to blows with Peter Schmeichel and other scoops from inside the Old Trafford dressing room at a time when United were unstoppable.

Throw in a bit of criticism of famous figures to help publicise it and the sales of his book may get a boost, but it's all without substance.

"I'm not sure how many books he has written now, but he has to draw the line eventually," was Keane's response last year when Ferguson published his book.

He was speaking on ITV in his role as a pundit, adding: "It's part of modern life. People like to do books and criticise."

Keane's latest is his second, so where will he draw the line? For all his criticism of Ferguson, the Irishman is doing just the same, isn't he?

It's all a little hypocritical, a bit sad if we're brutally honest. A once great player, a pillar of success, reducing himself to tabloid fodder.

That's what it is.

We're in the middle of an international break, headlines are hard to come by, so for that reason alone Keane's publisher probably chose this week of all to execute a PR campaign.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

He's getting maximum exposure and targeting Mourinho only helps the cause.

But when the focus returns to the Premier League next week, will anyone care about Roy Keane?

Not really.

It'll be back to Mourinho and the other high-profile figures of English football; managers and players who matter.

Like his playing career, Keane will be yesterday's news.

Keane once won his battles on the pitch, but he's unable to do that these days. Whereas he's concerning himself with book sales and headlines, the only thing keeping Mourinho awake will be his team selection as he bids to win the Premier League again with Chelsea.

His concern is the Champions League and other trophies. Keane probably isn't even on his radar.

Disgrace? OK, Roy.

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Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes