By Andrew McKenzie BBC Sport Online

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Davis has backed Roy Keane to return to football a better player and a stronger person.

Keane was handed a five-match ban and a record �150,000 fine for bringing the game into disrepute.

Davis found himself in a similar position in 1988 when he was banned for nine games and fined a then-record �3,000 for breaking the jaw of Southampton's Glen Cockerill.

He overcame the setback to help Arsenal to the English title in 1989 and 1991 and he had encouraging words for the under-fire Manchester United skipper.

"I think these kind of things will make somebody like him even more determined to do well for his club," Davis told BBC Sport Online.

"I think he will come back a better player and a better person perhaps.

"I don't think it will change him immensely but it will make him more determined to do well for Manchester United I'm sure."

Davis said Keane, who is recovering from a hip operation, will probably find the time away from the game difficult to handle.

"It is frustrating to be out for that length of time," he added. "Especially if you are in a successful side.

"You do feel down, but after a while you come to terms with it and you get through it.

"I didn't go down to the games, it was easier for me to deal with that way. But everybody deals with it in their own way.