They told him he was too small, so he became a Nottingham Forest legend and won 19 trophies

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Nottingham Forest have been blessed with an array of talent over the years.

From Forest legends such as Stuart Pearce to modern day heroes like Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood are proving to be now, the City Ground has always been a hub for players to be at their best.

On some occasion they’ve already come with a reputation for wowing crowds whilst others have come with a point to prove.

Roy Keane is one of those and despite being written off before his professional career had taken off, he silenced his critics and turned into one of the best players of the Premier League era.

• READ MORE: Roy Keane names the two Nottingham Forest players he really wanted to be like when growing up

Roy Keane was told he was too small to play football

As a young kid Keane was always passionate about football despite his love for other sports such as boxing and the Irish Gaelic sport of Hurling.

Football was where his natural talents lied however and the Cork native caught the eye of the Ireland schoolboys squad.

However, after a trial in Dublin, Keane was told he was “just too small” by former Ireland coach and scout Ronan Scally, as revealed in his autobiography: ‘The Penguin’.

Further rejections followed but after joining Cobh Ramblers and impressing as a teenager, then-Forest manager Brian Clough invited Keane for a trial before signing him in 1990.

• READ MORE: Roy Keane shares what Brian Clough did at Nottingham Forest that made things ‘perfect’ for him

Roy Keane won 19 trophies in successful career

Keane is one who is never afraid to rise to the challenge and although his early days in the East Midlands saw him struggle with homesickness, that didn’t deter him.

He rose through the ranks to make his professional debut for the Reds at the start of the 1990/91 season and soon had interest from top Premier League clubs within two years of being in England.

Eventually, after three years at the City Ground, Keane was signed by Manchester United for a fee of £3.75m, which was a British transfer record at the time.

Success followed Keane everywhere he went as he won 17 trophies with the Red Devils and captained them in the 1999 Treble-winning season, despite being suspended for the Champions League final.

Two more trophies came later on his career at boyhood club Celtic before he retired from professional football in 2006. He did return to Nottingham to work as an assistant manager alongside Martin O’Neill but the spell was nothing more than a brief return.

Sir Alex Ferguson said after his retirement that “Over the years when they start picking the best teams of all time, he will be in there”. A true reflection of how he proved people wrong.