Man Utd icon Roy Keane reveals he downed ‘six or seven pints’ the night before Nottingham Forest debut against Liverpool

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Roy Keane revealed he drank ‘six or seven’ pints the night before his Nottingham Forest debut almost thirty years ago.

But the former midfield hardman claims it was just a ‘quiet night’.

Having only just signed from semi-professional football in Ireland, the teenage midfielder was getting used to reserve football when the iconic Brian Clough gave him the call-up.

Speaking previously on Monday Night Football, Keane recalled: “I went over pre-season and was obviously doing a lot of training with the reserves.

“Forest had played their first league game at home on the Saturday against QPR and I went to watch it, and I was on the bench for the reserves on the Monday night.

“I got on for the last ten minutes and the first-team were playing Liverpool on the Tuesday night.

“Went out that night with the players, as you do after a reserve match, I didn’t drink too much – maybe six, seven pints after the game. Came in on the Tuesday and was told ‘get dressed up’.”

Keane would go on to enjoy an excellent three years at the City Ground, reaching the FA Cup and League Cup finals before signing for United.

But his ascendancy was turbocharged by Clough’s willingness to give youth a chance and the player-turned-pundit, 49, revealed a key piece of advice handed down to him by his boss ahead of the 2-0 defeat.

Keane continued: “What Brian Clough did a lot of the time, for the younger players, bring you with the first-team just as an experience. Carry the skips, help the kitman, so I went up [and] met some of the players in the hotel.

“[I] was putting the gear out with the kitman and Brian Clough says ‘what are you doing’ and I said I was putting the gear out – he says ‘no no, put that top on’.

“He gave me a bit of advice before the game which I’ve basically made a career out of. He said: ‘I’ve seen your pre-season, you can control the ball, you can pass it and you can move’.

“I said I can do those three things and he just told me to do that tonight. And that was my career in a nutshell: control, pass it and move.

“And people always nod their head when I say that, because as a professional footballer you should be able to do those three things. But believe it or not, a lot of players can’t.”

Another United legend and one of Keane’s former team-mates has also admitted playing while under the influence.

Rio Ferdinand was drunk playing for West Ham after downing three brandies.

The then 17-year-old was not in the squad for the game at Arsenal in 1996.

But he was found by the kit man in the Highbury lounge and told he was on the bench.

Rio, now 42, said: “I had a brandy and Coke in my hand. ‘Put it down’.

“I was like, ‘Rah, had three brandy and Cokes and about to play at Highbury’.”

He added: “I was on the bench thinking, ‘Please don’t let me come on, three brandy and Cokes, I can’t come on this pitch’. And then I came on.”

He replaced Slaven Bilic after 87 minutes in the 2-0 defeat.