No slacking, Keane warns United fledglings

ROY KEANE has launched a broadside at Manchester United’s younger generation and warned them never to forget how lucky they are to play for the club.

Keane was a frustrated spectator on Wednesday as the Red Devils slumped to the 3-2 home defeat against Middlesbrough that leaves them five points adrift in the title race.

The United skipper believes a lack of concentration is a major factor behind the malaise that has seen eight goals conceded in their last three Premiership outings.

He is equally fearful that some of the younger players are falling short of the blinkered ambition shared by the elder members of a squad that is widely accepted as the most focused and driven in the Premier League.

“We have worked extremely hard to get to the top but it is a lot harder to stay there,” said the 32-year-old.

“We have one or two young players who have done very little in the game. They need to remember that and not slacken off. They need to remember just how lucky we all are to play for Manchester United and show that out on the pitch.”

“I have been critical of our defence recently but it is down to the whole team, not one section of it. You can make all the excuses you want but the players representing Manchester United on Wednesday night were good enough to win.

“There were some positives to take out of that performance and in the end we were unlucky not to win but you can’t be going 2-0 down like we did the other night.

City arrive at Old Trafford on the back of a 14-match run without a Premiership win.

It is almost 30 years since they last recorded a victory at the home of their local rivals and their chances of breaking that sequence have been dealt a huge blow by the absence of top scorer Nicolas Anelka.

They do however have the memory of their unbelievable comeback in the previous round against Tottenham to fall back on and Keane acknowledges the Blues are probably not as bad as recent results suggest.