Neville won't here bad word about Dion

Gary Neville will not hear a bad word against former team-mate Dion Dublin despite the Aston Villa striker’s red card shame two weeks ago.

The former Old Trafford team-mates meet up at Villa Park tomorrow 12 days after Dublin was given a three-match ban for headbutting Robbie Savage during the explosive derby with Birmingham.

Dublin apologised for the incident on the morning after the game and most observers accepted his loss of temper was completely out of character.

That is certainly the case as far as Neville is concerned and nothing will tarnish the image of a man who helped him out so much during the early years of an illustrious Manchester United career.

“Dion is a very nice man who taught us a lot as young players in the reserve team,” the 27-year-old England international told BBC GMR.

“He was a first-team squad player at the time and he taught us about attitude, preparation for matches and how to make sure you gave it your all no matter what the circumstances.

“He was a great example to us all and I don’t have a bad word to say about him.”

After his Champions League goalscoring exploits against FC Basle in midweek, Neville will be part of a more recognisable United line-up who head down the M6 tomorrow in search of the win which will briefly reduce Arsenal’s Barclaycard Premiership lead to two points.

He repeated the Old Trafford mantra that United must win all their remaining nine matches to stand any chance of overhauling the champions but added that it was time the talking stopped and the action started.

“People are talking about the big games against Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal next month but if we don’t win our matches before then, it’s all irrelevant,” he said.

“It is okay talking about it, we have to do it. We didn’t perform at Bolton a couple of weeks ago and we cannot afford to put in any more performances like that.

“I’m sure Arsenal are very confident because they are five points clear but leads can be lost very quickly.

“If we can win tomorrow, it will apply some pressure and then you don’t know what might happen.”