Goram: Grateful for his coach's guidance (CliveBrunskill/Allsport)

Goram told Hodgkinson: 'I love you. And I always have loved you. I just wanted you to know that.'

And with that, the extraordinary Goram hung up, ending any chance a stunned Hodgkinson had of formulating some sort of reply.

It is not the way boys - far less men and certainly not supposedly tough professional sportsmen - are expected to talk, but then Goram, 36, has always been different.

Outspoken, passionate, independent enough to enjoy life his way - you do not call your pet goats Gin and Tonic if you have never leaned against a public bar - and undoubtedly the greatest goalkeeper Scotland has produced in the modern era.

For Hodgkinson, who started coaching The Goalie 20 years ago, he is the only player with the talent and character capable, at his peak, of challenging Peter Schmeichel as a world No 1.

Hodgkinson is in a good position to judge. He coached Schmeichel, too.

Now, remarkably, Goram has the chance at least to restore United's grip on the Champions League as one of the Great Dane's successors.

Goram is the only man with enough experience to dig Sir Alex Ferguson out of a goalkeeping crisis, with both Fabien Barthez and Raimond van der Gouw injured.

Hodgkinson, currently Scotland's senior goalkeeping coach, said: 'I just hope the chance comes for him to play. I know he has the inner strength for any job Alex could ask and I want it for him because I believe he deserves it.

'I've worked with Andy for such a long time and he has told me often enough he wanted to play for a major club in England. They don't come bigger in the world than United so at least he has his wish, even if it is a bit late.

'All the time Schmeichel was at Old Trafford he was rated the best in the world, but I always considered Andy to be up there alongside him. Between them they were unarguably the best, one with United, one with Rangers.

'If Peter had the edge, some of that had to do with his physique. He was tall and Andy was so much smaller. It gave Peter his presence, a tremendous authority, in goal.

'Andy worked on his technique and it paid off for him, just as it did for me when people told me I was too small.

'Age is a factor for all professional sportsmen. But there are certain qualities you don't lose and these, I would imagine, are the ones which swung it in his favour.

'There is no goalkeeper with better technique than Andy. He is calm and serene. He has experienced the greatest arenas and he knows he can cope with the most intense pressure.

'When it comes to Europe, these are vital attributes. We all know there is another side to him which attracts a different sort of attention but his private life has never been my concern.'

Others, though, have been left to sweep up the pieces over the years - two divorces, walk-outs and a lust for the good life which raised doubts about his dedication to fitness, if never about the job on the day.

Hodgkinson added: 'I ask - Can he perform in the Champions League? And the answer is yes. Can he perform in the Premiership? Again the answer's yes. That's all we need to know.'

The former Sheffield United goalkeeper was first alerted to Goram's talent by Joe Royle, then manager of Oldham, who told him he had the world's greatest young goalkeeper on his books.

'Joe wanted me to work with him but I didn't have the time and it was a year later when I first saw him play at Coventry in a reserve match. Oldham lost 7-0. I wasn't impressed.

'Our first coaching session was with three other goalkeepers, and this time it was Andy who wasn't impressed. He was so moody he kicked the ball out of sight, then watched as I trained the others.

When I got round to him again, I ordered him to walk and retrieve the ball, then said: "No, run there and back", which he did. I told him I wouldn't waste my energy on coaching him. He saw I meant it and has respected my requests ever since.