Robbie Keane is not a controversial character prone to foot-in-mouth observations, but he made clear yesterday his dismay at his short-lived stay at Anfield. In measured responses to a myriad of questions, the Ireland striker left no one in any doubt as to what he thought about Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager.

Keane, 28, then went as far as admitting that should Liverpool win the Barclays Premier League this season, he would consider the winner's medal worthless. He would qualify for one, having made 19 league appearances for the club during his six-month stint.

”Would it mean anything to you?” Keane was asked. “Not really, no. Not at all,” he replied. “If I was there and I was out of the squad, in and out ... it probably wouldn't mean as much to me. As a player, you want to be part of it. When you are in and out of the squad, sometimes you don't feel a part of it.”

Keane left Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £20.3million in July but returned to White Hart Lane for about £16million on Monday. Being left out of the squad by Benítez for the match against Chelsea on Sunday, which Liverpool won 2-0, proved the final straw. “I was still a Liverpool player then,” Keane said. “I was cheering the lads on. But I was delighted when I got a call to say that they [the clubs] had agreed a fee.

Capello gives us reason to believe

Gary Lineker says Italian has restored the self-belief among players who had been low on confidence after previous regimes

• Gary Lineker: I bought Leicester for love of club

• Gary Lineker: I'll never be a manager

Pampered stars drive me mad, says Redknapp

The Tottenham manager wants to add steel to his team's silky skills; starting with the match against Arsenal tomorrow

• Robbie Keane says league medal would mean nothing

• Harry Redknapp says time right to cut down Arsenal

World in Motion: fighting on ice

Owen Slot considers the end of hockey brawls, David Beckham's waning popularity (in New Zealand) and dope-smoking sumos

• World in motion: best rugby interviewees, Ronaldo's regime, cannabis and porn

• World in Motion: Thorpedo’s sexuality a talking point again

• World in Motion: Andy Murray's less than prodigious effort

Related Links

• Pampered stars drive me mad, says Redknapp

• Redknapp says time right to fell Arsenal

Multimedia

• Graphic: Tony Cascarino's ultimate football weekend

• Graphic: Gary Lineker's Premier League dream team

“I have no ill feelings towards anyone at Liverpool. I never had a fall-out with the manager ... I respect Rafa for the way he picks his teams but, unfortunately, I just didn't fit in into the way he wants to play football.

“He told me he wanted me as a second striker with Fernando Torres. But he was injured for a lot of the season and we only played a few games together. I was playing as a lone striker and everyone knows I am not a target man. I played left wing. I played out of position a few times.”

Keane said that Benítez offered no explanation over his omissions or why he was being sold. “With a different manager there, maybe it could have worked,” Keane said. “But I never regret anything I have done. Never, ever. It's not a mistake. I went there and it didn't work out for me, for whatever reason.”

Tomorrow, Keane, the new Tottenham captain, will lead the side in the North London derby at home to Arsenal. “For me, the move was the surprise of the transfer window,” Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said.