ROY KEANE had his fellow co-presenters in stitches as he put down Gary Neville in response to Sir Alex Ferguson’s brutal punishment for the former right back.
Neville was recounting the only time he’d lost to City on Sky Sports’ The Overlap.
The OverlapRoy Keane saw the funny side of Neville’s brutal treatment[/caption]
The OverlapJill Scott and Micah Richards saw the funny side[/caption]
Neville endured a torrid afternoon as United slumped to a 3-1 defeat against City at Maine Road in 2002.
He recounted how in the build-up to the game he had boasted to the press that he had never lost a derby.
He was also captaining the side because of a Roy Keane injury.
But he made a costly mistake with the score level at 1-1 which allowed City forward Shaun Goater to score the first of two goals that afternoon.
City would go on to win the derby 3-1.
It was the last Manchester derby at Maine Road before City moved to the Commonwealth Stadium, which is now named The Etihad.
Neville recounted the brutal punishment handed down to him by Fergie, saying: “He was quite vicious at times, the boss.
“So he sent me out for the second half and suddenly, I think after three or four minutes he subbed me off after half time.
“So I had to walk off with obviously all the crowd… Oh my God.”
To which Keane interrupted: “And you still call him sir?” and shook his head.
The other members of the Overlap episode, Micah Richards and Jill Scott erupted into laughter at Keane’s quip.
Neville said that the moment was so brutal that he went home and drank to forget the incident.
Neville said: “I got bottles of beer and sat at home on my own in Bolton and just drank.”
The former right back said he was frozen out for 10 days after the Goater incident which included being left out of a Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
The overlap team also discussed tomorrow’s FA Cup final.
For United fans, their motivation to stop City from emulating their 1999 treble success is almost stronger than their motivation to actually lift the cup.
In their two meetings this season, both sides won their home matches.
City thrashed United 6-3 at home in a game that included an Erling Haaland hat-trick.
But United got the better of City in January in a 2-1 win through goals courtesy of star men Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes.
Roy Keane said: “Yeah, I am worried for United in a sense again with the squad and type of players they’ve got.”
But he offered some hope for United fans in saying: “But United in Rashford and Bruno Fernandes do have players that can hurt City if City are just off or let them off the hook.”