THE BIG INTERVIEW STEVE CHETTLE

The legend of Cloughie gave me a platform for success

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

STEVE Chettle shared a pitch with some wonderful players in his 13 years at Nottingham Forest.

Stuart Pearce, England icon. Pierre van Hooijdonk, set-piece specialist. Teddy Sheringham, whose sale to Spurs in August 1992 sparked the crumbling of Brian Clough’s empire. Then there was Roy Keane.

“Ah Roy,” laughs Chettle, who made his debut in 1986 and played 527 games for Forest before leaving to join Barnsley following David Platt’s arrival in 1999.

“He was about 18 when he came to us in 1990, this quiet country boy from Cobh in Ireland. I don’t think anybody imagined that he’d become one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen.

“I can still picture him, sat on the bus up to Liverpool with a pair of boots in a carrier bag. He ended up making his debut that night and that was that. Off he went.

“He could do anything, Roy. Any job, any position, and he’d be outstanding. He was a great player for us. Quiet, but great. Then he went up to Manchester and became this feisty, opinionated, outspoken individual who would take on anybody.”

Yet even Keane, below, for all the trophies and accolades, is a shadow of the player Chettle regards as the most talented he’s ever seen. “When people ask me to name the best player I played with, I always say Stan Collymore,” he says. “And not just by a bit. By an absolute mile.”

Collymore, whose career was blighted by struggles with mental illness, arrived at the City Ground in the wake of relegation from the Premier League in 1993.

Three years earlier the striker had been plying his trade for Stafford Rangers, yet 50 goals in two seasons led to England caps, European football and a British record £8.5m move to Liverpool.