Roy Keane gives the impression of someone who is still awestruck by everything that has happened to him in the last three years. In June 1990 he was sitting with his pals in his local pub in Cork watching Ireland in the World Cup, a year later he was playing for them in Lansdowne Road and next year it’s quite possible his pals will be watching him win a midfield battle or two in the World cup in America. His story is the stuff of which most schoolboy dreams are made, only his achievements in that short space of time would probably exceed the wildest fantasies.

He was signed by Nottingham Forest in 1990 and within four weeks Brian Clough picked him to play against Liverpool at Anfield. He has stayed I the team since, appeared in three Wembley cup finals, become a regular in the Irish team and was voted into the Premier League team of the year by his fellow professionals this season. The press value him at £5 million, making him one of soccer’s hottest properties.

But you don’t get to where Roy Keane is without the tabloids noticing and this season he’s hardly been off the back pages. They have chosen him to be their bad boy of the season and have scraped deep for the stories to back up the image. Two seemingly innocuous incidents in a Nottingham nightclub and a Jersey hotel became the source of screaming tabloid headlines and he’s now experiencing the downside of fame. But it’s hard to reconcile the demon he has been portrayed as, with this quietly spoken, honest, down-to-earth 21-year-old who has worked hard to get where he is and appreciates everything he has achieved. And like all Corkmen he’s proud of his roots…

MH: What part of Cork are you from?

RK: I’m from Cork City; I just played for Cobh. The press keep saying I’m from Cobh, well the English press anyway, but I’m from Mayfield from the north side of Cork City. It’s like any other place in Cork, really. I’d an average size family, three brothers and a sister.

MH: What were you like in school, were you like most normal kids who wanted to be out playing football?

RK: Well, yeah, I was never that interested in school. I wasn’t any good at school. I just wanted to play football and other sports. I boxed for a couple of years and obviously played hurling and football for the school but it was mainly football. I very rarely did my homework, like most kids I suppose.

MH: Had you any idea what you’d do aside from soccer?

RK: No, I didn’t have a clue. I left school quite early, around fifteen or something like that. It was just soccer but no English club was interested. I couldn’t really do anything else ’cos I left without any qualifications. I was just doling a couple of Fás courses and I just kept practising my football, hoping. I thought it was a bit late, I was about eighteen going on nineteen when Forest came in for me so it was quite late really. But as it worked out, it was the right age for me – I went straight to being a professional, I didn’t have to go as an apprentice. It worked out perfect in the end. I don’t think I would have survived going over at 15, having to scrape by there on a couple of quid a week and being away from the family and all that. I probably would have done it but I would have struggled. You’re too young.

MH: You hadn’t played for long with Cobh when Forest came in for you?

RK: No, I’d played with a team called Rockmount for nine years as an amateur, then when it was getting a bit late for me to go to England, I said I’d have a try and get my face shown so I thought I’d try League of Ireland and went to Cobh, only 15 miles down the road. Cork City were in the Premier Division, Cobh were only in the First so they were more likely to give me a chance to get in the first team. So I went to Cobh for about eight months and then Forest came in for me.

MH: When did you first hear they were interested?

RK: Well, I was in the first team but the youth team had an important match in Dublin and I was asked to play. But I was getting a few bob because I was professional so I said I’d play for the youth team as long as I’d get some money, ’cos I’d be missing a League of Ireland match. So I went up to Dublin and we actually got beaten four-nil by Belvedere. But I was quite happy with my game and the Chairman from Cobh came up to me and said there was a Forest scout there and he was interested. But I thought no more about it ’cos I had hundreds of people saying there were clubs interested since I was fifteen and nothing ever happened. But a couple of days later Cobh rang me and said I was asked to go on trial to Forest. It was fantastic. I’d had a couple of setbacks before – I was meant to go to Brighton on trial. I was all packed, booked my flight and everything, and at the last minute I got a phone call saying it was cancelled. That was the nearest I got. Even the trial at Forest I didn’t take too seriously, I just thought, I’ll keep my fingers crossed, it’s the first step anyway, someone’s taken notice of me. Luckily everything went alright.

MH: Who spotted you for Forest?

RK: Noel McCabe from Dublin. I owe a lot to him really ’cos other scouts had seen me hundreds of times but obviously I never impressed any of them. But he must have seen something or maybe he knew the full-time training would bring me on. I didn’t think I was that good a player, but obviously he saw something there.

MH: So you set off for Forest.

RK: Yeah, I just went over on trial. It was even a big step for me at eighteen going off to England on my own. I did half-decent but I didn’t think anyone took any notice of me when I was over there, none of the real coaches had seen me. I was a bit disappointed when I came home but a couple of days later they asked me would I go back ’cos they never got a chance with their busy schedule to watch me, so I said of course I would. In between, a couple of clubs came in for me on the face, I reckon that Forest were interested, but I just wanted to go back to Forest. When I went back I played my game when the manager was there and all the coaches so it was make or break for me, but I played quite well, I knew it was the biggest game of my life really. After the game they just said they were going to try to sign me, obviously hoping to agree money with Cobh and I just kept my fingers crossed they would.

MH: Were you nervous about moving over?

RK: I was just nervous about leaving home but I was only leaving my family, it’s not as if I had to make a decision about a job or if I was engaged or something stupid like that. When I was over I took notice of how nice they were to me. I just knew they were the club for me; if I was going to sign for anyone it would be Forest.

MH: Were you a bit in awe of the big name players like Pearce, Walker and Clough?

RK: Of course, yeah. The thing is when I went over and signed I got introduced to them and I was delighted but I thought to myself it’d be another two to three years before I’d be even mixing with them in training. I signed a three-year contract ’cos I thought it’d take me a while to settle in and make my mark but within a month I was after getting in the first team.

MH: Is that story true about Brian Clough driving you to Anfield, just a month after you signed, and then telling you you were playing?

RK: Yeah, it’s true. I drove up with him before the match in the morning. They played the first match of the season on the Saturday, then they were playing Liverpool at Anfield on the Tuesday. On Monday I was sub for the reserves which I was delighted with, I remember everyone saying ’well done’. I came on for the last ten minutes. Tuesday morning I was told ‘get your boots’. The team had gone to Liverpool on the Monday night so I drove up with the manager. I just thought I was going for the experience, I didn’t ever think I was playing. On the way we stopped at his house, had a cup of tea. I was in awe of everything, to be in his house! We went up about two o’clock, met the boys – that was only my second time really even meeting them properly. I just went to bed in the afternoon, I always remember the coach saying make sure you have your boots ’cos I carried them up in my bag. I thought ‘what’s he worrying about me forgetting my boots for’ but I soon thought nothing of it.

We got in the dressing room about half six and the manager came up and said put that number seven on you. I was looking around for someone to start laughing, I thought it was a joke because he’s a bit of a joker. That was it. It was only an hour to kick off, I was just worrying were my boots alright and everything, I didn’t have a chance to get worried. My family would have come over if they’d known. I just didn’t have a chance to get nervous. Even the boys in the dressing room were coming up to me and asking me my name again ’cos obviously when you hear it the first time you wouldn’t take it in.

MH: It must have been something playing in a packed Anfield for your first match?

RK: As I said, I didn’t have a chance to get nervous, everything just flew by. If I’d known about it I wouldn’t have slept. Funny thing was the Monday night after the reserve match I was out with a couple of the boys and had a couple of pints! If someone had said tomorrow night you’ll be playing at Anfield I would have gone straight home to bed! But I wouldn’t have got to sleep. Everything worked out perfectly.

MH: Who was in the Liverpool midfield that night?

RK: I remember Steve McMahon was playing… this always sticks in my mind. They were on the attack and I was running back defending and he’s running next to me. I looked at him and he looked at me and I remember thinking ‘Is this really happening?". That’s one thing that sticks in my mind. And obviously the Kop and the crowd. I was quite happy with my performance.

MH: The reports were very good.

RK: But I knew the reports would go over the top with me. Even if I’d done average they would’ve said he did brilliant, if I’d done brilliant they would’ve said he was out of this world. But I was quite happy myself and I knew the manager would’ve been and he wouldn’t take any notice of the papers. I was just hoping maybe I might have some chance at the weekend to be involved in the squad again.

MH: So within a month of signing for Forest you were in the first team and have stayed there since – how come you established yourself so quickly?

RK: I don’t know. Even at Cobh I wasn’t really a good player, it must have been the full-time training and obviously the coaches and the manager. But I wasn’t that good and that’s why other English clubs weren’t interested. At the time there were one or two injuries so I think the manager just thought, I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him, you’ll have to give him a ring! Even the other coaches didn’t know I was playing against Liverpool, it was his decision. It was brilliant. He must have been something nobody else had seen but that’s what he’s good at, seeing potential in young players.

MH: How did your family react to the news about your debut?

RK: The funny thing was when the manager said, ‘Get your boots you’re going to Liverpool’, I had to run back and get my soap bag and toothbrush or whatever. He was waiting for me so I just picked up the phone and rang my Dad and said I’m travelling to Liverpool, I’ll ring you when I get back. So I put the phone down and my Dad rang everybody.

So I rang him next day and he said he couldn’t believe it and I said ‘Sure I told you’, but he said, ‘I thought you meant with the reserves!’. He told all my uncles, then they heard over the radio I played with the first team. It was nearly the cause of his death!

MH: Then suddenly everyone was raving about you.

RK: Yeah, but I knew I had to be careful. I knew there was a long way to go. I didn’t want to get carried away or anything like that. The following day I was booked to go to France with the reserves on tour. But on the way back from Anfield on the coach nobody said anything to me so I didn’t know what to do. And we were to report at six o’clock next morning. I got back from Anfield around twelve or one that night and went in at six next morning with my bag and they said ‘Oh you’re not meant to come, you’re on standby for Saturday’s game’. So I never took anything for granted. I didn’t think I’d play again for a while, I thought it’d been just a one-off and I’d be back in the reserves.

But the following Saturday he played me away to Coventry. He said in the paper I’d just travel, I wouldn’t be playing, but just before the game he told me I was playing again. My Mam and Dad and a couple of my uncles came over for the next match, my home debut. It was brilliant. I did alright. I was taken off actually ’cos I was just so tired, it was such a hard week, I’d had three matches. I was quite happy coming off, the crowd, the family all there. It was brilliant. I didn’t miss a game for the rest of the season. I’ve only missed a handful of games in three years.

MH: And less than a year after joining Forest you were playing in an FA Cup final at Wembley.

RK: But that was one of the biggest disappointments as well, obviously losing and all my family coming over. I didn’t think I had a very good game either. Even if we’d lost and I’d played well I wouldn’t have felt half as bad.

Now to this day I really can’t remember the match. Even during the game I was saying ‘take it all in, take it all in’.

MH: Were you a bit overawed, do you think?

RK: No, I don’t think I was, I was relaxed before the match, I saw my Dad and I was waving to him and everything. It was just one of those things.

MH: Then the following season you won the Barclay’s Young Player of the Year Award – did that kind of acclaim put a lot of pressure on you?

RK: Nah, stuff like that doesn’t bother me. I’ve won numerous awards but I don’t take any notice of them. Obviously it’s nice but you’ve got to go in week in, week out and do the job. The club don’t care, it’s nice for them for you to win awards but if they thought I was going to take it easy ’cos I’d won an award I’d soon be in the reserves… which is the right way to be.

MH: Did you think you’d get your chance with Ireland so early with so much competition for your position?

RK: The funny thing was that in my first season everyone was pushing, telling Jack I should be playing and I didn’t think that was helping my cause ’cos if Jack didn’t think I was ready then he’s the manager and he’s right. But everyone kept on about it and I didn’t want that ’cos I thought it might be going against me ’cos Jack’d be saying ‘I’ll do the press’. Come the end of the season I got my chance against Chile. I think that was my biggest occasion I soccer ’cos it was only a couple of months prior to that I was in my local pub in town in Cork watching the World Cup and then I was playing. I do remember that day ’cos hundreds came up from Cork, all my family. It was the best day of my life in soccer really.

MH: Your first two managers in football are two of the biggest names in the game. How do they compare?

RK: Actually people never ask me that question which I’m surprised at; you’re probably the first. They’re just their own men, they don’t care what people say about their style. Like with Jack, everyone says we hoof it, but we don’t. But you could talk till the cows come home trying to explain so we don’t.

Brian Clough does what he wants and he’s got success over the years and nobody can argue with his record, or with Jack’s. It’s as simple as that; just stick that in their faces if anyone slags them off. They know what they want out of their players which is the best thing.

MH: It’s been a struggle for Forest this season – what do you think has gone wrong?

RK: We sold one or two important players – Des Walker, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Wassall. I think Des has been probably our biggest loss and we haven’t replaced him. It’s as simple as that. I’m sick of people saying we’re too good to be down there ’cos we’re not. The league is forty-odd games, we’ve played third-odd now and we haven’t got the results. We didn’t replace those players and at a club like ours our squad wasn’t even that big anyway and then we lost three players so we struggled. It’s as simple as that.

MH: It’s probably the first down you’ve had in your career so far.

RK: Yeah, in three years. You know football is all ups and downs and I’ve had nothing but ups – this is my only down so far but that’s what it’s all about. As long as there are more ups. I just hope we don’t get relegated.

MH: Do you even think about playing in the First Division?

RK: No, I try not to ’cos it’d be the end of the world really if our club went down. We’re such a good footballing side – as to whether we’re good enough is another thing but it’s not where we belong, we belong in the Premier League.

MH: What about all the publicity you’ve been getting this year, do you think you’re getting an image you don’t deserve?

RK: Yeah, I think I am, but I’m the first to admit I’m no angel. It’s only in the last couple of months I’ve had a bit of trouble but everywhere I go I’m under the spotlight. There’s nowhere I can go without being recognised in Ireland or in England… or even in Jersey (laughs). I just have to be more careful about what I say, what I do, where I go. I still don’t realise how much I’m under the spotlight, it’s only in the last couple of months I’ve realised what pressure there is on me. Little incidents, stupid little things get blown up and they’re in the back pages of every single newspaper. There was a bit of stupidity on my behalf as well so it’s up to myself to cop myself on.

MH: Do people look for trouble, is there always someone looking to pick a fight?

RK: Yeah, there’s always one or two ready to have a go. If you’ve had a couple of drinks you can take it up to a certain limit if someone’s giving you stick, but then you can crack if they’re giving you too much. People do say bad things to your face as well. I just had two little incidents in my three years as a soccer player and now I’ve the image of being a bad boy so I just have to be more careful… it’s quite hard.

MH: But the tabloids have decided to give you that image.

RK: But it doesn’t bother me what the papers say. I’ve spoken to the manager about it and he knows what it’s like. But it’s my family, they go mad, all the relatives in Cork, it affects them, it looks bad and I feel like I’m letting them down so I just said to myself, ‘cop yourself on’. But I’ve never had my chance to tell my story about the incidents in Jersey and the nightclub in Nottingham, I wouldn’t mind if I could but people obviously wouldn’t believe it, they just believe what they read in the paper which is stupid like. But I know the truth and the club do which is the important thing ’cos they pay my wages… although I’ve been fined that many times I don’t get that much (laughs)! There are always one or two idiots ready to have a go, especially now ’cos I have that image, it wasn’t that way before.

The worst thing is when I go home to see my family. I get hassled in Cork. In England it’s OK, it’s only really when I go back to Cork. They’ve had a couple of drinks, want to take me on or whatever. The days are gone when I could go for quiet drinks, I usually have to go with a couple of my brothers. When I go out I just have to be careful but then I think I can’t have people stopping me enjoying myself. I’d go home and my Mam’d say just go for a couple of drinks, don’t go into any nightclubs. But I’d think to myself, ‘what if I want to go dancing, nothing should stop me’, but then maybe next day there’d be something in the papers and it’s really not worth it. But I’m not going to let people stop me going out and having a good time.

MH: What did you think of Brian Clough saying you should get married and settle down?

RK: Well, he has a thing at the club where he likes to think players are settled, with a steady girlfriend or married but I haven’t and he keeps asking me ‘Have you got a steady girlfriend yet’ and I keep saying no. I don’t really have time for it. I’d sooner go out with the lads than go for dinner or something with a girl, I’m not into that. He took me off in one game, I was fighting with some player, and that’s when he said it, but he likes having a joke with the press and he says things which doesn’t help me I suppose, but he just likes having a laugh with them. The next day I went to see him about something, not about that, and he said ‘I hope you believe I had nothing to do with the paper’. He was laughing, it was a bit of a joke. But as for getting married, no way, not for another ten years. Plenty of time for that.

MH: And how did you feel about his public criticism of you over your contract negotiations?

RK: Yeah, that’s another thing, he’s the manager and he does what he wants and I just have to take it that way. But it doesn’t bother me. The worst thing is people believed those papers. Behind doors everything was alright, I wAs quite happy at the club. I still had a year and a half of my contract to go and he was calling me greedy but he eventually gave me what I wanted so I couldn’t have been that greedy – actually he gave me more!

MH: So you were happy with what you got?

RK: Yeah, I was very happy.

MH: Has your relationship changed with him much since you first went over? At the beginning he was calling you a little gem and a gentleman.

RK: No, not really. He still treats me exactly the same. I get on as well with him as I did when I first went over. But obviously I’ve got older, got more headlines and stuff and I’ve had a good couple of years so he’s just having a laugh with me in the press. As I said, I’ve let myself down with two or three stupid incidents that have been in the papers, but he knows the truth about those incidents. It doesn’t bother him as long as it’s not my fault.

MH: What about your future? Do you have an agent?

RK: No, I don’t have an agent, I don’t really believe in them. I did it myself and got a lot of advice from players. I did have someone giving me advice but he’s not an agent. I don’t believe in having one.

MH: Do you agree with the criticism agents are getting for their involvement in the game, especially in transfer deals and contract negotiations?

RK: Yeah, they’re all gangsters. You get one or two good fellas I suppose, but to me they’re all gangsters, I’d have nothing to do with them. I just look after myself you know, whether that’s right or wrong I don’t know.

MH: I know you don’t want to think about Forest going down, but if they do would you have to think very hard about what you’d do next season?

RK: Of course, yeah. People have been asking me about my clauses in my contract but that’s a private matter. I don’t think that we’ll get relegated but of course if we did I’d have to think strongly about my future. I wouldn’t like to desert the club either, but I have to look after myself which is the important thing. It’s a big year next year with the World Cup, so playing in the First Division where obviously the standard is a lot lower… I’ll be sorted out alright, I’ll make the right decision in the summer anyway.

MH: Well, you should have plenty of offers.

RK: Well, I hope so.

MH: A certain Mr Dalgliesh might be interested.

RK: (Laughs) I don’t know.

MH: What about the £5 million tag put on you? Is that fair enough?

RK: No, that’s ridiculous, that’s just paper talk. A player’s only worth that if he goes for it, it’s no use being valued at that. People say Giggs is valued at £20 million but there’s no way he’s worth £20 million. £5 million? I’m not worth £5 million. Probably I’ll only go on for what I came from Cobh for, about ten thousand (laughs)! It doesn’t matter what you’re valued at, it’s what a club are prepared to pay for you. But I’m not thinking about transfers, I’m quite happy with the way things are at the moment.

MH: Jack Charlton says you’re better than Gazza!

RK: Ah, I don’t know if he said that. I don’t know if he was after a couple of pints or not! Maybe if he had the choice of the two of us – but I don’t know if he’d think I was a better player. But it was nice of him to say it. As for being the better player, nah, he’s wrong there. I suppose the way we play he’d sooner have me in the team.

MH: Would you like to play abroad, maybe in a few years?

RK: Yeah I would, but I’m only 21, people forget that. Maybe in another year or two if I keep improving. I don’t think I’m good enough now, not by a long way. But come another year or two the way things are going now I think I would be good enough then, hopefully.

MH: Would you fancy Italy?

RK: Yeah, I think I would. I watch it every week. It’d be a new challenge in my career. But I’ve signed my contract and if I do well over the next couple of years I wouldn’t mind a move abroad.

MH: Do you enjoy the footballer’s life, is it as you expected?

RK: Yeah it is, it’s quite good. It’s quite relaxing, a lot of free time. Obviously there are minuses but the pluses make up for them, I suppose. I wouldn’t swop it for anything in the world basically because I can’t do anything else except play football. So I just have to try and make as much money as I can before I retire.

MH: What about the discipline involved in being a professional footballer, is that touch for a 21-year-old?

RK: No, not really. The club is great – I even go out and have a couple of drinks or whatever. You just make sure you don’t step out of line, especially as high profile professional footballers. As I said, I can’t scratch my arse without it getting in the papers. It’s just up to myself to be more careful.

MH: What do you do with your free time?

RK: I don’t do much to be honest with you. I don’t know where the days pass by. I’m always up to something. I’d go and watch a match if Notts County are playing, sometimes I’d go back and just watch MTV all day. I’d get a couple of videos, watch a match on television, maybe a game of snooker. I’ll have to take up the golf, I’ve been saying that since I went over.

MH: What kind of music are you into?

RK: My music varies, I’m not into certain bands, anything. If you saw my collection there’s anything from Neil Diamond to U2, Simply Red, anything. I’m not into rave, that’s stupid, it’s just a load of crap.

MH: Have you heard the Cork bands Sultans Of Ping and the Frank & Walters?

RK: Yeah, I’ve heard about them but I wouldn’t say I was a big fan. I like them but I wouldn’t buy one of their CDs. There’s another Irish band, The 4 Of Us, from Northern Ireland, I like them a lot.

MH: Do you mainly hang around with other players or do you have a lot of friends outside the game?

RK: Yeah, I’ve a lot of friends outside football, people automatically don’t think you have, but I do. Obviously I have a lot of friends at Forest but I don’t really pal around with any of the first team ’cos they’re all married, or older, or going out with their girlfriends or whatever. I’d just as soon as go out with the lads in the reserves and have a laugh.

MH: Do you have your own house now?

RK: Yeah, I bought a house a couple of months ago, just before I signed my contract. I had to sign it to try and pay that off, I was struggling with the mortgage! It’s just outside Nottingham in a little village. I got it just to try and get away from the limelight and all of that – it hasn’t helped me, has it (laughs)? I always wanted to buy my own house, I just didn’t think I could afford it. But I needed a house to settle down and for when the family come over, so when I saw a house I liked I decided to take the plunge.

MH: Your brother Pat is hoping to make a career in England?

RK: Yeah, he came over to Cambridge. He’s had an ankle problem, it just came at him when he went over, so hopefully he’ll be alright, touch wood. I spoke to their manager last weekend and if he just proves his fitness over the next couple of weeks he’ll be OK. I gave him as much advice as I could, I told him to put a lot of effort into it. You get out of the game what you put into it, simple as that. If he messes about he’ll be back here in two years’ time. If he tries and works hard you’d never know, he might get a move to a big club, but he just has to take one step at a time.

MH: And you’ve two other brothers, Denis and Johnson, playing in Cork.

RK: Yeah, they play with Temple United… aah, they’re not bad!

MH: Have they any professional ambitions?

RK: Nah. Maybe when they were younger, but they’re a bit old now, one’s… I think he lies about his age, I think he’s 30. I think they’re past it (laughs). Don’t tape that!

MH: Your parents must be delighted with how things have gone for you.

RK: Yeah, of course. When I was younger they used to follow my career all the time and go and watch matches. I always had uncles at matches and even my aunts which is great. They followed me to every county.

MH: Was your mother like most mothers, did she worry about you when you first went over?

RK: I suppose she did, yeah, but I was lucky, I was nearly 18. I wouldn’t say I was that mature (laughs), but she knew I had a bit of sense about me, so I don’t think she was too nervous.

MH: So what do you think you’d be doing now if you hadn’t got the break?

RK: I’d probably be on the dole now, I’d no qualifications and especially with the unemployment in Cork, it’s quite bad, so I don’t know what I’d be doing.

MH: What would most of your friends from Cork be doing?

RK: Well, one or two of them might be working, but I wouldn’t say great jobs, no disrespect, ’cos there’s not many jobs around. Any job is a good job, really.

MH: What do you miss about home?

RK: Well, obviously going out with the family or whatever, the brothers and my buddies. But as I said the days are gone when I can just go out for a quiet drink. It was brilliant when I first went home, I could go out at night and have a great laugh and have no trouble. I used to always look forward to coming home but now it’s not as easy as that. It’s different, completely different. So now when I come home it’s just to see my family, it’s not really to go out and have a good time ’cos you don’t get the chance really.

MH: Do you think you’ll settle in England? Are you happy there?

RK: Yeah, I’m settled in Nottingham anyway. As for whether I could live in London or somewhere else I don’t know, but that’s where my job is. I wouldn’t live in England if I was working as a bricklayer or something like that. But that’s where my home is now for probably the next nine years. There’s no way I’d settle over there. I’d never get married and live over there. I’ll definitely come back to Ireland, definitely, yeah.