Roy Keane foresaw his own role in the drama of Saipan long before it unfolded. In his autobiography, released a few months after the 2002 World Cup, he described himself as the “fall guy” in what he called a “bad movie.” This prediction came many years before the saga was immortalized on the big screen.

Keane’s candid reflection captures the moment of realization: his teammates from the Republic of Ireland were not fully in his corner, nor were they entirely supportive of their manager, Mick McCarthy.

As Keane began to understand the situation, he saw that his actions—though unintentional—might have played into McCarthy’s hands. His own self-destruction, as captain and star of Manchester United, inadvertently facilitated a sense of unity in the dressing room that McCarthy may have desired.

Actor Eanna Hardwicke brings to life the fierce intensity of Keane during the early 2000s, infusing his portrayal with the biting wit and comedic timing that fans have come to appreciate in Keane’s later career as a pundit and podcaster.

Hardwicke’s interpretation of Keane is one of seething frustration. He channels the footballer’s silent fury as he walks through subpar training facilities, grapples with malfunctioning air conditioning, and laments the lack of proper football equipment and basic comforts like cheese sandwiches.

A new film depicting the Mick McCarthy (left, depicted by Steve Coogan) and Roy Keane (right, depicted by Eanna Hardwicke) 2002 World Cup feud will be released in January 

Keane and McCarthy’s row overshadowed their 2002 World Cup camp, with the former leaving

Keane shows his frustration during training during a tense World Cup camp in Saipan, Japan

Always on the brink of picking up the phone and breaking for home as the tension builds until the point when it explodes in the defining tirade. As Sky Sports viewers know well, Keane is never more compelling than when gathering a head of steam for the big take-down on any given Super Sunday. Even if you know it is coming it remains a delicious prospect.

Steve Coogan as McCarthy is less convincing. He doesn’t quite land the Barnsley accent nor the ring of Barnsley confidence and lacks his physical presence.

McCarthy at 43 would have proved a powerful counterbalance to Keane’s wiry strength and appetite for a fight, but Coogan pitches him closer to the long-suffering and exasperated post-Ipswich version than the man he would have been in Saipan.

Unlike the documentary, dramatised sport on screen tends to strip away the layers. One or two very talented Republic of Ireland internationals might be irritated to find they are conveniently cast as drunken amateurs. Keane alone repels temptation in his determination to do the best for his country.

Saipan though isn’t pretending to be wholly factual. Large parts are faithful to Keane’s account in the first of his two autobiographies, including watching the Muhammed Ali biopic on the flight and the references to Fawlty Towers, although one fictional leap is the newspaper interview, which ends all hope of smoothing out any differences.

Hardwicke captures all the visceral aggression of early-Noughties Keane during his display

In the film, showing this week at the London Film Festival, Keane is stitched up by a reporter who promises nothing will be printed under after the World Cup and then publishes immediately claiming it was simply too good to hold.

Whereas Keane never tried to hide the fact he had willingly granted the interview to two respected football writers and approved the copy for one of them and was under no illusions about precisely when it would be printed.

Other points will be disputed, including whether Keane at the peak of his rage slung the crowning insult at McCarthy, that he was English not Irish.

More than the heavyweight issues of nationhood, the English in Ireland or toxic masculinity though, Saipan revolves around the classic sporting quandary of the manager’s relationship with his biggest star and best player on his personal pursuit of excellence.

We are left in little doubt about McCarthy’s limited man-management skills as he fails to handle the demands of Keane’s anger and led to a conclusion that he was happier without him, and that the bulk of the Irish squad probably felt the same way.

Coogan as McCarthy is less convincing. He doesn’t quite land the Barnsley accent nor the ring of Barnsley confidence and lacks his physical presence

Left to their usual routine in the absence of their captain, they performed well after leaving Saipan for Japan and South Korea and reached the last 16 before losing to Spain on penalties.

The film is on general release in January and with another World Cup on the horizon, albeit one increasingly unlikely to involve the Republic of Ireland, the same old issues with rise to the surface for different nations.

Distracting presences and perceptions of special treatment. Games missed to nurse injuries and pressures applied by the world’s most famous clubs, who happen to employ the talent on which the World Cup depends.

Minor episodes, innocuous in isolation, collected over time to acquire a greater significance as they resurface in the emotion of a dressing room power struggle.

All eyes turn to Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham as we wonder if England are about to conjure up their very own Saipan.

SAIPAN is in cinemas across Ireland from January 1 and across Britain from January 23