Roy Keane has been speaking about the glory days of Manchester United in the 1990s, during a great interview with former teammate Gary Neville, courtesy of Sky Bet
The pair took Keane's dog Jet through the woods in Cheshire were they took a trip down memory lane discussing both the former Ireland and Manchester United captain's playing and managerial career so far.
During one strand of the interview, Keane tells Neville he admired Ferguson for letting the players have a night out but says he couldn't tell his boss the real volume that was consumed when he and his teammates ventured into Manchester after midweek game.
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"He'd (Ferguson) ask 'how many drinks did you have?' and then I'd lie to him. I would say to him 'maybe 10 or 11 bottles' and he'd reply '10 or 11 bottles!?'. If only I told him the truth as that was every hour! "You told the odd white lie as you're going along obviously, but you're having a laugh and getting away with it. I wouldn't change any of it. I'd always be in on a Thursday morning (the morning after a night out) because of the guilt for going out."
It does emphasise the importance of Ferguson's man management, putting the onus and responsibility on the players. Something Keane feels was a big part of the team's desire and togetherness.
"On a Saturday I'd be thinking "we'd better win because we're out on Saturday and if the manager finds out we're in trouble". We had to win matches and trophies to justify the life we were living."
And what a life it must have been. During the open interview the 50-year-old admits those days were the best of his life and there's no surprises there. Being able to win trophies at the top level and celebrate with your team mates in a big way is what dreams are made of.
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Topics: Roy Keane, Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United, Sky Sports, Gary Neville, Republic of Ireland