“No one wants to play for Ireland as much as me, I’ve been playing for Ireland since I was 14, 15, coming up to Dublin for trials. It’s hurting me.”

But he was unrepentant about the verbal attack on McCarthy during supposed clear-the-air talks which led to his expulsion from the squad — and again criticised other team members for not standing by him.

“Mick was going to be the only winner and I understand that — he’s the manager,” Keane admitted. But he added: “I feel I deserved better.

“My conscience is clear, and that’s the most important thing in my life, it really is,” he said. “If there was any doubt in my mind ‘Roy, you were a bit out of order, you should maybe have held back a little bit’ but there isn’t and I won’t accept it. I can’t accept it.

“I need to stand up for what I believe in. I feel I’ve earned the respect to have my say, that’s why I’m captain. You need your team mates behind you. Maybe players are worried about their own reputations. They had their chance to speak last week.

“I can understand the younger players not wanting to say anything, but the senior players knew the score, and when I walked out of that door that was the end of it.

“I’ve made mistakes, done things I’m ashamed of in the past, but I’m sticking to my guns. What happened to me last week I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

The chances of Keane now being accepted back into the fold seem remote after what was far from an apology. A fact even Keane seemed to accept.

“I can’t see it happening, but we’ll have to see. I would love to play in the World Cup but it’s up to other people,” he said.

McCarthy had earlier claimed other players would walk-out themselves if Keane returns. “I had to sit the players down and assure them that no apology will be enough to get Roy Keane back into this squad.”

“There were some angry players in that hotel, they were annoyed at the suggestion he could merely apologise and walk back into the fold. I have no doubt some of them will walk if he ever comes back. But that isn’t going to happen.

“Roy Keane is history as far as I am concerned and we have moved on. I don’t believe he is the sort who apologises for anything and I am not interested, even if he does have a change of heart.”

Keane earlier admitted he gave McCarthy no option but to send him home. “A player cannot speak to a manager like that and continue to work under him,” he conceded.

Asked by interviewer Tommie Gorman whether he would meet the FAI and McCarthy half-way, if it brought about a return to the squad, he said: “I want to play for Ireland. So possibly yes. Nobody wants to play for Ireland as much as me.”

However, he was unrepentant on the initial causes of the row, insisting the facilities supplied for the team were inadequate.

Speaking from a Manchester hotel, he said: “My family backed me because I told them what happened. I might be a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. When I decided to come back I thought that was the end of the matter. I didn’t want to go through the media, I didn’t want to speak to do this interview. But when I got back to London my solicitor said there’s an imbalance in the story.

“There was lots of nonsense coming out that wasn't true. I thought: ‘I need to speak out’. The people deserve to know the truth.

“People said I shouldn’t have reacted the way I should but I think I was forced into a corner and there was only way I was going to come out, and that's fighting.”

Keane added: “The family were glad to see me. It's good to be home — I’ll probably go to Cork for a bit in a few days.

FAI sources said last night that Mick McCarthy will not comment until he has read a transcript of the report, but chief executive Brendan Menton insisted that he is “90% sure that what is, is.”

Eamon Dunphy insisted on his Today FM programme Keane did not apologise to manager Mick McCarthy: “I’ve spoken to Roy Keane, and he's told me he didn’t apologise. That’s the end of the matter as far as I’m concerned.”

Keane admitted he had felt let down by other members of the team. He added: “People weren’t in that room, they weren’t there the next morning when people were leaving.

“I feel I’ve earned the respect to have my say. When you are in charge of the team you want people behind you.

“Maybe other people they had their chance to stand up for me last week. Steve Staunton, Alan Kelly and Niall Quinn had their chance in a press conference.

“Maybe but it’s not in my hands and I’m standing firm in what I believe.

Former Republic colleague Kevin Sheedy would like to think Keane can still play a part in the finals.

He said: ‘‘Looking at Roy in the interview he’s fit to play and there’s maybe a glimmer of hope. But there’s a lot of negotiating that needs to go on, and quickly, if they are to get Roy back over there and in the World Cup.

“They (McCarthy and Keane) are both very proud men. Roy’s made the first move to try and see if there is a way back. I hope sense will prevail and Mick McCarthy and the FAI can put something together.”

But he believes senior players such as Steve Staunton and Niall Quinn could be upset by Keane’s criticism - he called them “cowards” - for their lack of backing during the bust-up.

Words of the Irish warriors

Tuesday, May 21st:

Keane: “I had no intention of quitting. I do love the 90 minutes, it’s the rest of the crap.”

McCarthy: “Roy trained this morning and is absolutely fine. He has had a change of heart and I am delighted.”

Wednesday, May 22:

Keane: “Certain people set out to bloody annoy me. They’re quite good at it and I don’t need it in my life. I’ve got more important things to worry about. All the players feel the same … if you spoke to them.”

McCarthy: “He is one the of the best players in the world but he is a disruptive influence. I have made the right decision not only for the benefit of me but for the benefit of the squad. I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home.”

Friday, May 24

Keane: No comment.

McCarthy: “As far as I'm concerned that is history that part of the trip. I am not going to field any more questions on the subject.”

Saturday, May 25

Keane: “I have no regrets. I’m happy to be going home to see my family. There are more important things than the World Cup.”

McCarthy: “The decision to throw Roy out of the World Cup was mine and mine alone. I could not take him to Japan after the abuse he threw at me in front of my players. I will not tolerate any interference in that decision. It was taken on my own and I am happy that I did. If that changes, I will quit.”

Sunday, May 26

Keane: No comment.

McCarthy: "You can ask me about Roy Keane until you're blue in the face but I won’t make any comment, good, bad or indifferent. I've said my piece, the incident is over.”

Monday, May 27

Keane: “There is not a single shadow on my conscience. I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about my part in what has happened. I will return to Ireland next week and walk down the main street in Cork with my head held high. There is absolutely no chance (of an apology), never in a million years. I have been hurt too much by what has happened, let down by so many people within the Irish camp.”

McCarthy: No comment.

Last night

Keane: “I want to play for Ireland more than anyone. It’s what it’s all about, playing in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see. What happened to me was wrong, it was wrong. But the ball is not on my side of the court.”

McCarthy: “I’m considering my response.”