FROM A MAN WHO KNOWS A THING OR TWO

From The M.E.N.

"I don't back horses after they have run, I back them before they run.

"It was shortly after Roy had come to United, and people were calling him a thug, for want of a better expression.

"I said then that, in my lifetime, Roy was the nearest thing I would see to Duncan, as a player and as a competitor.

"Sentiment being what it is, people would say that Duncan could go past you like Stanley Matthews - and if he couldn't go past you he would go through you, like Roy does.

"The only big difference between the two is that Duncan would not lift his hands.

"Over the last five years everyone has said what a great player Roy is, and has always been, and I believe my views have been vindicated, certainly in terms of what happens on the field.

"It is qualified by what he did to Alfie Haaland, and one or two other incidents, but in terms of being a player, he can be compared to Duncan.