Goram thought Fergie offer was McCoist prank and 'told Keane to f*** off' at Man United

That's despite being 37 and, at the time, was helping to run a pub.

The football world is mourning the loss of a Scotland great following the death of Goram at the age of 58, after a short battle with cancer.

Described as 'a little fella with a huge personality' who 'enjoyed a drink', Goram was the product of a bygone era of football when you didn't have to be a supreme athlete to reach the very top of the game.

It's even said that he was known to enjoy a beer or two before games. They don't make them like that anymore.

As Scottish football reporter David Tanner told talkSPORT: "What he lacked in stature he made up for his ability as a shot-stopper."

He is regarded by many to be Scotland's greatest goalkeeper of time, and he wasn't bad with cricket bat in hand, either.

Representing his country at four major tournaments - 1986 and 1990 World Cups, 1992 and 1996 European Championships - he also played first-class cricket for Scotland, before being forced to choose football over cricket by his old Rangers boss, another late, great legend, Walter Smith.

It certainly paid off, with Goram going on to enjoy a career which saw him win five Scottish first division titles, three Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups with Rangers, and named the Football of the Year and Players' Player of the Year in the 1992/93 season.

Not even he would have foreseen his golden career finale, though - which came in the form of a brief spell at Manchester United, where he played a key role in their 2000/01 Premier League title run-in.

Having given Goram his Scotland debut during his spell as national team boss, Fergie was encouraged to give 'The Goalie' a call when injuries to Fabien Barthez and Raimond van der Gouw - plus Mark Bosnich's free transfer to Chelsea two months previously - saw United enter March with no fit goalkeepers.

After a suggestion from Ferguson's older brother, Martin, who was United's chief scout at the time, the iconic boss gave Goram a call to make the out-of-the-blue offer - only, the goalkeeper didn't believe him.

It's said that both Smith and former Rangers teammate Ally McCoist had contacted Goram one morning, urging him to keep his phone close by - because an important call was coming.

Fergie made the call, and the conversation went something like this:

Ferguson: "Goalie, I want you to come down for three months on loan. Fabien Barthez is injured and Raimond van der Gouw is injured. We've got Bayern Munich [on] Wednesday and Liverpool [on] Sunday."

Goram: "Coisty [McCoist], f*** off!"

He put the phone down. Ferguson, who of course knew well what Goram was like, called back, and Goram told his first wife, Miriam - they were driving in the car at the time - to answer it.

"Miriam, this is Alex Ferguson, and you can tell that fat b****** he's got ten seconds to say aye or naw!"

Aye was the answer and, although 'The Goalie' ultimately didn't play in those clashes against Bayern and Liverpool - with Barthez returning to fitness in time - he did play his small part in Red Devils history.

Goram made his Manchester United debut the day after his 37th birthday in a Premier League game against Coventry. He conceded twice and was substituted for Van der Gouw on the 66th minute - apparently so that the No.2 would qualify for a winner's medal.

Fortunately for the veteran Scot, United won the match 4-2 and, with title rivals Arsenal losing to Middlesbrough that weekend, it meant Goram started the game that crowned the Red Devils as champions.

Ferguson even arranged the goalkeeper to receive a Premier League winner's medal for his services - a mark of respect between the legendary Scotsmen.

He made one further appearance for the English giants, which came almost a month later against Southampton where he was again substituted by Van der Gouw in the second-half as they lost 2-1.

So there it was, Goram's Manchester United career ended almost as quickly as it started, but he didn't leave without making an impression - including with Roy Keane.

The pair didn't see eye-to-eye at Old Trafford due to their Rangers and Celtic allegiances, with Irishman Keane said to have refused a welcoming captain's handshake to the new signing.

Goram even described their meeting in an interview with the Daily Mirror, saying: "Shark's eyes. Dead, devoid of emotion, glaring at me. No handshake. Welcome to Manchester United, Roy Keane-style."

He also hit back at Keane in one training session, where he told the skipper to 'f*** off' in front of the entire team.

"One day in training, we were playing a game of eight-a-side, and Keane and Luke Chadwick were up front for my team," he explained.

"I half-volleyed a peach of a pass right onto Chadwick's foot. The kid snatched at it and ballooned his volley over the bar. Suddenly, I was the target of a volley of abuse from Keane. 'Hey you, give me the f****** ball,' he screamed. I replied: 'What, do you get the ball just cos you're Roy Keane? F*** off!'"

Gary Neville then had a word afterwards. "Goalie," he said. "We don't talk to Roy like that down here. We just don't."

Neville was one of many football stars to pay tribute to the goalkeeper following Saturday's sad news.

Many will remember Goram for different reasons - for his crucial role in a glorious period for Rangers, for his maverick behaviour off the pitch, or even that he was in goal for Paul Gascoigne's famous strike against Scotland at Euro 96, which is said to have left 'The Goalie' fuming.

But, for talkSPORT's man in Scotland, he'll be remembered as the greatest ever - even though he may not have looked like it.

"Richard Gough [the former Scotland defender] nicknamed him 'the flying pig'," Tanner said.

"He was not a guy you'd think of when you look at modern goalkeepers now - slim and athletic. 'The Goalie' was as wide as he was tall, very much an old fashioned guy, but he was strong, agile, very brave - he had teeth missing because he was not afraid to put his head where it hurt.

"A goalkeeper from a bygone age, even in his own era, but my word he was good.

"'The Goalie' was genuinely world-class," he added.

"Alan Hodgkinson, the former England goalkeeper who at the time spent half his week coaching Andy at Rangers and the other half of the week coaching Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United, said he felt Goram was the best in the world in the late 1990s.

"That was one hell of a tribute."