Keane says all to blame for United’s shock loss

MANCHESTER UNITED skipper Roy Keane has refused to single out a scapegoat for his side’s shock Champions League qualifying defeat in Hungary.

The finger of blame for Bela Koplarovic’s stunning late strike has been pointed at Phil Neville, who failed to cut out Balasz Molnar’s floated free-kick.

The error allowed Tamas Szamos to charge down the left and provide the cross which Koplarovic bundled home from close range to give Zalaegerszegi the biggest win in their history.

But Keane, who in his controversial autobiography has accused team-mates of losing their focus amid the mass of wealth they have accumulated over the past few years, insisted the entire squad bore collective responsibility for the defeat, which leaves United’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread before the competition has begun.

“It was a soft goal to give away,” admitted the fiery Irishman.

“We had possession just before the free-kick and then he just hit a long ball. It was a bad goal but we are all in this together and we must make sure we put it right in a couple of weeks,” he said.

As if the defeat was not depressing enough, coming just three days before the start of a new Premiership campaign, United also picked up

injuries and had Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Beckham needlessly booked for dissent.

Wes Brown looks to be the most serious casualty, picking up an ankle injury which will rule him out of Saturday’s Premier League opener against West Brom and probably a few weeks beyond. Beckham also sustained bumps and bruises after a concerted physical assault from the Hungarian minnows, while Ryan Giggs has an ankle injury.

With goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and defensive duo Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville also set to miss the visit of the newly-promoted Baggies, Ferguson has few options other than to stick with the defence which ended last night’s game.

On the plus side, John O’Shea turned in a composed performance at centre-half.

However, after their failure to impose their undoubted superiority on opponents whose only other European experience came against NK Zagreb in the previous round, beads of sweat will be starting to appear on the foreheads of United’s money men if the Red Devils do not dispose swiftly of their Hungarian opponents in the Old Trafford return on August 27.

Failure to qualify for the latter stages of the tournament would cost more than £12million in prize money, and having splashed out

almost £80million on Ferdinand, Van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron in the past 12 months, even the Old Trafford cash machine might struggle to absorb the shortfall.

United have a 100% record from five home encounters with the former Eastern Bloc nation and despite last night’s setback, will be heavy favourites to overturn the deficit and advance into the group stages of the competition.