Dyche came through the system at Forest, though the former defender never made a competitive appearance for the club he now manages.
Walker recalled to The Sun: “I can remember Sean Dyche, obviously being a young lad.
“He’d come up with Ian Woan and Steve Stone at Forest. Always gave 100 per cent, honest as the day is long.
“He didn’t have the most natural ability in the world but what he did have was the ability to stay in there, dig in, and go and make a living.
“I’m proud of him as a footballer, because he went, stayed in the game and he made a living.
“It’s easy when you have a disappointment that you won’t get in the Forest first team. The problem he had was there were five, six England internationals in the team.
“So it’s not an easy thing to come along as a youngster and get in the team, but he didn’t get disillusioned.
“He went out and he made a living from it, a career, and then took that into managing. Sean manages how he plays and that’s with a lot of honesty, straight, and he treats his players with respect. And he creates a team rather than individuals.”
On then manager Brian Clough involving young players like Dyche in the senior setup, Walker added: “I remember (Clough) had done that a few times. I don’t actually remember necessarily just Sean Dyche, because it was any young lads who were around.
“Cloughie had that way really of grounding people or lifting them up.
“So he’d bring him in the dressing room, get a smell of it . . . ‘this is where you want to get to, come and sit on a bench with me’.
“He’d bring kids along for the experience because he thought one day that’s where you’re going to be.”