"Phil has been a revelation.
"If you go back to the start of the season and had asked me to name my central midfield partnership, it would probably have been Nicky Butt and Roy Keane, or Roy and Paul Scholes.
"But Quinton Fortune and Phil Neville have done so well for the club since they played together there. Go back to last year when they played against Arsenal and Liverpool - they were brilliant and they were the same against Rangers.
"It's as if Phil has matured and it has come to him. It's a new position and he's loving it and improving all the time.
"Phil is an athlete and him and Nicky Butt are the types who have suffered a lot over the years because they have never held down a position and played say 50 games a season.
"They have played about 35 simply because they were pool players.
"That's always a drawback and can be a weakness for any player. It might get him a game in different positions for a while but once everybody is fit, they can get left out.
"Phil has developed and shown a lot of maturity on the pitch and he has done great."