When a new morning’s training was about to begin, the players and other staff members came streaming into the training base through the gate. Ian MacDonald smiled as he greeted everyone.
The people flowing through the gate lessened, and the training was about to begin inside.
It was at that time that MacDonald saw a figure emerged at the gate. He was surprised because he knew the person.
“Roy? Roy Keane?” The face was very familiar, but he still did not dare to believe.
The man, who was looking inside the gate, heard someone call his name and turned his head. When he saw Ian MacDonald, he was a bit stunned as well.
He was familiar with the face. It was just a little older than he had remembered.
“It is you, Roy!” MacDonald was delighted and bewildered. “Why are you here? Aren’t you… Um…” He was going to say, “Aren’t you at Manchester United?” But he immediately recalled that Keane had already canceled his contract with the Manchester United Club.
“You’re… Mr. Macdonald?”
MacDonald smiled happily. “I didn’t think you’d remember me, Roy.”
“I thought you no longer worked here.”
“I’m retiring at the end of this season.”
Suddenly, the two men were quiet for a moment. They did not know what to say. Finally, MacDonald pointed to the gate and asked, “Roy, who are you looking for?”
Keane shook his head, “No one, I’m here for the training.”
Upon hearing this, MacDonald’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m just here to train, not to sign on with Nottingham Forest. Mr. Twain invited me here to train so that I can stay fit and maintain my condition.”
MacDonald nodded in understanding, “Please wait for a moment. I’ll inform him.” MacDonald walked into the guardhouse and dialed Twain’s number to tell him that Keane had arrived.
In less than five minutes, Twain strode out. When he saw Keane standing at the gate, he waved to him happily. “Come in. Be careful though; the media, wherever they’re hiding, are going to think that you’re joining Forest!”
Keane said goodbye to MacDonald and walked in.
“Generally, my team practices twice a day. I thought you would only come this afternoon.”
“Well, I’m used to it.”
“Come on, let’s go straight to the locker room. I’ll assign you a locker. I’m sure the boys will be shocked to see you! I haven’t told anyone that you’re coming here to train.” Twain winked at Keane, his expression like a child looking forward to a successful prank.
※※※
The locker room was very lively. The Forest players casually chatted as they changed into their training clothes. Everyone was present.
At that point, they suddenly heard their manager’s loud voice outside the door. “Hey, guys! Let me introduce you to a new… teammate!”
Just as he spoke, the door was pushed open.
Twain stood at the door and looked at the crowd as they turned. He was satisfied that his yell had attracted everyone’s attention. Next, he took a step aside and waved towards the outside of the door at the same time.
A man then appeared at the door, and everyone in the locker room was stunned when they saw him.
With everyone stunned into silence, Twain was satisfied. He smiled.
Amidst the silence, Keane raised his hand and said hello to them. “Hey.”
“Ke… Keane?” said Wes Morgan. He still could not believe that the man standing in front of him was Manchester United’s captain and their opponent, Roy Keane.
“Chief, what’s going on here?” Ribéry turned to look at the grinning Twain. “Why is… is the captain of Manchester United here…”
Twain cleared his throat. “Don’t you watch the news, Franck? Roy just dissolved his contract with Manchester United.”
“So, you signed him?” Someone asked.
Twain shook his head, “No. Before Roy finds a new club, I’ve asked him to come here and train to keep fit and maintain his condition.”
“A new club? Why can’t it be us?”
“Because… Roy doesn’t want to become Manchester United’s opponent in the English Premier League.” Twain stole a glance at Roy who stood beside him, expressionless.
“Ah, that’s a shame! I was looking forward to becoming teammates with Keane…”
“I got excited for nothing!”
Keane looked at the grumbling men. They were his competitors not long ago. At that time, he had never thought that he would be in his opponent’s locker room like this. Life was truly marvelous, and he felt wonderful.
“All right, guys, you should get out there.” Twain clapped his hands and the players who had changed their clothes went out.
Twain brought Keane to a locker without a name tag. “You can use this one for now.”
Keane Nodded.
“Does it feel a little awkward?”
Keane glanced at Twain. “No.”
“Okay, that’s good. I’ll go out first.”
※※※
During training, there would always be a player who would cast his gaze in interest over at the other side of the field. Roy Keane was conducting systematic training by himself over there. He did not train with the team but practiced alone.
Twain handed the team training over to his assistant manager, David Kerslake. He then walked towards Keane.
“Do you need me to get a coach over, Roy?”
Keane declined Twain’s kindness. “No need, I’m training according to Manchester United’s training program. Your coaches have their own programs. It’s not the same.”
“You still remember those?”
Keane Nodded.
“I forgot that you want to a coach. Of course, you pay attention to the team training. Well, if you need any help, call me.” After that, Twain turned and walked Back.
After a while, Twain signaled for the team to stop training so that they could conduct small group matches. The twenty-three players on the First Team were divided into three teams. Each team consisted of eight players who would compete in one half of the field. The losers had to do push-ups as a forfeit and the winners continued to stay on the field until another team defeated them. Each game was limited to ten minutes. Whichever team scored the first goal would win. If no one scored in the ten minutes, the winner would be determined through penalty kicks.