Roy Keane found the "perfect" body fat level for a midfielder with former Manchester United trainer Mick Clegg hailing his influence at Old Trafford.
The Irishman was an integral figure as the Red Devils enjoyed huge success in the 1990s and into the 2000s. In his role as captain he marshalled a dressing room full of stars, all while setting the standard himself with impressive performances in the middle of the park.
Keane's career came during a period where a player's physique became increasingly important and eventually saw the Irishman go from having one of the highest body fat percentages in the Premier League to one of the lowest. Clegg told the Independent : “He was absolutely brilliant. When you see people change, you also see a change in their mentality.
"That's what happened with Roy. You could almost say he reinvented himself as a player. I know his body fat level was 5.5 per cent at its best, which is very, very low, but perfect for a midfield player. He was very power-based, attack, attack, which is why he loved doing the boxing. It all helped hone him, made him more sharp and aggressive. He was really good to work with.”
Clegg was originally recruited by United’s former physio Rob Swire, who saw that he and Keane could work together effectively. Having done work with power development such as boxing and plyometrics, he was asked to work with Keane, who had never done weights but had done boxing, and decided to introduce both.
Keane's success with work in the gym filtered down such was his influence. Clegg revealed that the likes of David Beckham and Jaap Stam were soon following suit as their captain led the way. It made the United coach's job notably easier given Keane's endorsement.
Is Roy Keane the best midfielder in Premier League history? Have your say in the comments!
Clegg added: “Roy influenced everybody, because Roy maintained control, and kept people in order. You have to have somebody like that in a changing room, certainly at that time. When the players went into the gym, they knew Roy was very pro what I did. He really made it easy for me to work in the gym. All the players wanted to do it because – on a level of playing and training – Roy was the man. Everyone’s bought into it, because Roy said it was good."
Keane though has confessed amid injuries and experiments with his diet that he struggled later in his career before he sought advice on which direction to go. He said on The Overlap: "Towards the end of my career I was kind of gaunt-looking in some of the pictures. I was picking up more injuries, like dead legs, I was cold all the time. After 15 minutes in the dressing room at halftime I'd be freezing because I had no protection."
The United skipper, now surrounded by foreign players such was the appeal of the Premier League, was looking to learn what he could from his teammates before eventually turning to his roots. "I was trying to live and act like an Italian or a French player," he said. "It was when the lads were coming out of the dressing room, they were doing stretches and eating salads all the time.
"I was thinking, 'yeah, maybe I'll try some of that'. Because I was just eating bread and potatoes and pastas; still having a half-decent diet. I forgot what I was about. I am Irish. I like a bit of rubbish. That is what suited me."
