‘I couldn’t believe my luck’ - Roy Keane on his early role models and nights out drinking in Nottingham

Keane made the move from Cobh Ramblers to Forest in 1990 and admitted he struggled to adapt to life in England as he initially missed his family back home in Cork.

Yet as he found his feet in the Forest first team, he also adapted to a new life off the field, with Forest captain Stuart Pearce and England centre-back Des Walker among his biggest early influences.

Keane was also starting to enjoy regular nights out in Nottingham, where he would occasionally run into Walker, who was living the kind of party life the impressionable Irishman wanted a slice of.

“I was young, around 19, and I started to go out a little bit,” recalled Keane. “As a young player and you get into the first team, you're looking at Pearcy and Des (as role models).

"I’d see Des out and I’d be drawn to what a footballer was. I loved what Pearcy stood for and when Des is out partying, I wanted some of that as well. This is the life, I couldn’t believe my luck.

"Des had all the cars and the toys and I wanted a bit of Des and a bit of Pearcy. I was only young and quiet, so I wasn’t going out socialising with him. To train and play with Des and Pearcy was great.”

Walker went on to reflect on a very different era in football, when players went out partying up to a couple of days before a match with the consent of his manager, Brian Clough.

"I never used to drink that much as a youngster, very rarely,” said Walker. “Then we went to Australia at the end of a season and by the time I got back from there, I’d learned to drink!

"I remember how it all started for me. I went out on at Thursday night and left after 4.30am… steaming. I remember when we were playing Tottenham on the Saturday and we beat them 2-0.

"So I did that every Thursday until I was 35. If we were playing on a Sunday, I’d go out on the Friday. Always two days before. The manager didn’t say anything. He cared what you do on a Saturday and make no mistake, there were no excuses.

"That’s what I felt comfortable doing. You’ve got to go and deliver as a professional on a Saturday and I’m not saying that’s the only way to do it, but I felt great.”

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