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He was ferocious, combative, and, if you found yourself on the wrong side of him, utterly ruthless in the tackle yet there is a gentler side to Roy Keane. The former Manchester United midfielder has traded going into strong challenges on the pitch for verbally dismantling players and managers as a television pundit.

Yet if anyone has witnessed Keane's softer side, it is his future son-in-law Taylor Harwood-Bellis. The Southampton defender has the chance to make the Irishman even prouder by defeating his old adversaries Manchester City in this weekend's FA Cup semi-final. Harwood-Bellis is set to wed Keane's daughter Leah later this year, having got engaged two years ago. The one-cap England international has come to know a far more mellow and warm-hearted side to the former midfield enforcer.

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Speaking to The Sun, the defender said: "He's one of the people, barring my immediate family, who I know for a fact has only my interests in mind. The advice he gives me, I know he's got my full interests at heart, so he has helped me with decisions."

When quizzed on whether Keane regularly attends matches at St. Mary's, Harwood-Bellis added: "He's been to a few games. He's got his own life, so he's not going to sit around watching me too much. He shows me lots of support and he doesn't say well done too often, unless I've done something special."

One might assume Keane would be among the first to make his way to Wembley to watch Harwood-Bellis and his teammates take on City this weekend. However, should the former Red Devil decide he wants to see his future son-in-law pit himself against City, he will be digging into his own pocket for a ticket.

On a recent episode of the Stick to Football podcast, when quizzed by Gary Neville, Ian Wright and the rest of the panel about whether he would be asking the Saints defender to sort him out with tickets, Keane said: "You think I'm going to bother him for tickets? No chance."

Keane displayed a similar dry wit when Harwood-Bellis made his England debut. When the Three Lions thrashed Ireland 5-0 at Wembley Stadium in a Nations League fixture, Harwood-Bellis memorably rose above the rest to head home on his international bow.

At that point, he had recently proposed to Leah. Keane, who was on punditry duty that evening, cheekily hinted he might withdraw his blessing after the Saints defender netted against his country. He said: "It's not done and dusted yet, things can change really quickly in the Keane household! It's nice for him, it's good for him to make his debut. He is a really good kid and his family have done a great job."

Harwood-Bellis and Leah also announced in August last year they were expecting their first baby, which would make Keane a grandfather for the fourth time.