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KEANE
BLASTS:
Roy Keane has told his team-mates
that slackness and complacency are at the root of Manchester United's
failure in Europe. The outspoken captain is driven by the importance
of next Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, second leg with
Bayern Munich, when United will seek to pull back a 1-0 deficit.
United beat the Germans to lift the European Cup in 1999 and Keane
was frank in his assessment of the task that now confronts his side.
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He
said: 'One or two players are living off what happened two years
ago and that is a problem. Sometimes players come to the stage where
they don't realise that they are not performing. 'Players look back
too much. You need to look forward and forget about what happened
two years ago.' The formidable midfielder has long had a strong,
almost intuitive, bond with manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has often
acknowledged that the player shares the same demanding standards.
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Rather
than displease the Old Trafford boss, Keane's stark criticism will
be welcomed as the perfect method of goading a response from United's
under-performing players. Indeed, it will be hard for Dwight Yorke,
whose late return from international duty has left his manager irate
on occasions this season, to escape the feeling that Keane has him
in mind - particularly with the arrival of Ruud van Nistelrooy still
on the cards. Keane added to the feeling that the squad and its
management are fighting desperately to rescue their European dream,
saying: 'In past seasons we've had one or two crisis meetings, but
this season we've already had three or four. 'That shows that things
aren't right. This season has not been good enough. The signs have
been there all the way through the competition. We know we can put
it right if every player in the team digs deep. It is still all
to play for and it's not all doom and gloom. 'Sometimes I'm critical
of my team-mates, but I'm also critical of myself. I was as bad
as anyone against Bayern Munich last week and it's not good enough.'
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