United look to Neville to play Keane's role

Ferguson's side need a point against Panathinaikos in Athens to reach the knock-out stages but are missing injured captain

The ancient Greeks played all their drama behind masks and Sir Alex Ferguson, for one, would recognise the reasons why.

"Good question," he smiled when asked by a Greek journalist if he really thought tonight's Champions' League encounter with Panathinaikos was more important than Sunday's showdown with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Manchester United manager answered it as diplomatically as he could, pointing out that his team could not afford the complacency which had undermined them in Stuttgart and that Panathinaikos pushed them hard in Athens two years ago. But the absence of Roy Keane told its own story and the temptation to rest Ryan Giggs, who is 30 on Saturday, must be strong.

This is a season in which the United captain, now 32, has to be carefully nursed, much in the same way as Bryan Robson was at Old Trafford a decade ago. Keane has "a slight hamstring strain" according to his manager, but the need to keep him fresh for the big battles means he would not have travelled even if fully fit.

The policy cannot go on forever. Ferguson thought the Irishman might have two, possibly three, more seasons after this one. Manchester United's midfield is now a very congested area and the lack of opportunity has led to Nicky Butt reportedly expressing his dissatisfaction to Ferguson. Unless the United manager buys big, then one of Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba - who is absent because his mother is ill - Darren Fletcher or Phil Neville will have to come out of this crowded pack and assert themselves, and perhaps the last looks the likeliest candidate.

"[Neville] is in a position now where he enjoys playing," Ferguson said. "When he was a full-back he was restricted by the fact that Denis Irwin and his brother were always in front of him. Phil has established a position and kept it by his own performances. I don't know if he has been treated fairly in the past. Then, he was always considered a utility player. He played wide right against Monaco, wide left against Arsenal, and then he would go back to playing in defence. This year he has found a place in midfield and made a success of it. That he has kept out Nicky Butt and Djemba-Djemba is a statement of his form."

He does not want anyone, be it Phil Neville or Kleberson, who impressed against Blackburn on Saturday - "lovely feet, terrific balance", Ferguson enthused - trying to ape Keane. "The most important thing is for someone to establish themselves with their own personality. You can't replicate Roy Keane. I don't think there is a replica, but you want someone who can influence the team the way that Roy does.

"Roy or Nicky Butt or Djemba-Djemba can play as a holding midfielder," he added, "but Roy is much more than that; he is an everywhere player."

United need a point in the tight, intense cockpit of the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium to qualify for the knock-out phase of the Champions' League and they would probably back themselves to take all three against a club which has achieved one draw in four matches. Panathinaikos have just had their own crushingly important league game, the derby with Olympiakos, who have denied them the Greek title for eight years. They did not win it.

United require a spur to top Group E and be seeded for the knock-out phase. Ferguson has it in the painful memory of his last visit to Greece to play Panathinaikos in March 2001, when only a very late goal from Paul Scholes salvaged a draw.

"We need to control the game and make sure we don't get trapped in our own penalty box as we did the last time we played Panathinaikos. We have to assert ourselves very strongly and make sure we don't have a Stuttgart situation."

If they fail, their captain, watching at home in Cheshire, should be avoided when they report for training on Friday.

* The Football Association plans to announce the date for Rio Ferdinand's hearing for failing to attend a drugs test next week.

Panathinaikos (probable) (4-3-2-1): Nikopolidis; Mikaelsen, Henriksen, Goumas, Konstantinidis; Seitardis, Basinas, Maric; Vlaovic, Sanmartean; Konstantinou.

Manchester United (probable) (4-4-2): Howard; G Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea; Fletcher, P Neville, Kleberson, Fortune; Forlan/Giggs, Van Nistelrooy.

Referee: J Wegereef (Netherlands).