It's fair to say that Roy Keane has caused quite a stir following his appearance as a pundit on ITV's Champions League highlights show last night. 

The former Manchester United midfielder took aim at Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and even his old club. 

He deemed Liverpool's and Tottenham's recent trophy haul "embarrassing", suggesting that one League Cup apiece in the last decade is not good enough. 

He also said that Jose Mourinho must improve United's defence if he's to get them winning trophies and Keane also singled out Ashley Young as the man causing them to struggle. 

But it was his assessment of Chelsea players that was perhaps the most damning of all. 

When previewing the first-leg of Chelsea's Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona next week, Keane questioned the commitment of the reigning Premier League champions this year.

"These Chelsea lads are so unprofessional," he said on ITV, per the Daily Mail.

"When they go and win the league and the last few years, they downed tools under different managers. It's shocking behaviour." 

Antonio Conte and his team stormed to the title last season. But, as Keane points out, they've been nowhere near as good this time around. 

And the commitment of a number of star players has been questioned in the past, with the likes of Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas being blamed for having a part in Mourinho's Stamford Bridge sacking back in 2015. 

But according to Conte, nothing of the sort is happening this time round. Speaking in his press conference ahead of this weekends FA Cup tie against Hull City, the Italian hit back at the suggestion. 

Responding to Keane's comments, he said: 

"No, no. As you know very well, in every moment I have underlined the commitment of the players.

"I think that, in these 18 months, we built a great mentality. In every training session I see great commitment and great behaviour. Under this aspect, I'm very happy." 

The commitment of every Chelsea player will be tested over the next few weeks, with a number of huge games coming up. 

The FA Cup is Conte's best chance of silverware this season, meaning Friday's game against Hull is a must win. 

Then Barca visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday and the Blues will be desperate to stay alive in the Champions League after missing out on the competition last season. 

League fixtures against United and Manchester City follow and with the battle for a top-four spot tougher than ever, each game is a must-win, especially when it's against the league's top two.