Former Nottingham Forest man Roy Keane has always had a reputation for demanding high standards.
And one particular story illustrates the extent to which Keane remains a stickler for perfectionism.
It may even offer a glimpse into what life could have been like for Reds players working under the ex-midfielder when he returned to the City Ground as assistant to Martin O’Neill.
Ian Wright, who himself had a spell on loan at Forest during his playing days, has recalled how he spent time with Keane at the 2018 World Cup.
It led to him getting a ticking off from the Irishman for being a couple of minutes late for a lunch date!
“I’ve got so much admiration for Roy Keane,” Wright said on the BBC MOTD podcast.
“We were at the World Cup together and spent a lot of time together.
“I was thinking, ‘oh my gosh, we’re really cool mates and it’s fine’.
“I remember this one time, I said, ‘Roy, we’ll go for lunch’, because we had breakfast then we’d go for lunch.
“And then he said: ‘Okay, Wrighty, see you at 1.15.’
“I said: ‘No problem, I’ve just got to do some stuff.’
“So I had to go do that.
“I got there, it must have been 1.17, maximum. I was waiting down there and I thought, where is he?
“I phone him up and I said: ‘Roy, I’m in the lobby, what you doing?’
“He said: ‘Wrighty, what time did we say?’
“I said: ‘I.15, it’s just 1.17!’
“He said: ‘Wrighty, 1.15 is 1.15, I’m not coming.’
“I laughed because I thought, oh, he’s only messing about.
“So I said: ‘Haha, nice one, Keano. Okay.’
“And he said: ‘Wrighty, I’m not coming.’
“He hung up the phone and I never saw him until the evening.
“And then as soon as I saw him, he did one of those cheeky smiles that he’s got and he says: ‘Na, Wrighty, this is why…’
“He said: ‘This is why Man United were so successful. We did what had to be done on time. We did what we needed to do.’
“That’s what made me think with Roy Keane, to be under him, to be under his stewardship as a captain, he would take nothing in respect of failure.”
