Neville relaxed in Keegan's camp

Phil Neville believes Keegan is a relaxed coach

Phil Neville has admitted that working with England coach Kevin Keegan does not fill him with the same fear that he gets when being bossed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

The younger of the Neville brothers says that despite having played for the United first team for the last five years, he is still feels "a little fear" of Sir Alex, but feels very relaxed in the current England camp.

The man who will almost certainly be asked to mark Portugal's Luis Figo on Monday says that Keegan is really just one of the lads.

"Kevin probably mixes with the players a little bit more than Six Alex," said Neville.

Sir Alex Ferguson

"The boss at United probably tends to keep his distance but Kevin Keegan gets among the players. He plays cards with them and every minute of every day he is sitting with us.

"Always in the past with England, and it's the same with United, you've had a staff table and a players' table but there are no walls like that in this camp.

"Everything is open, everybody mingles together and Kevin Keegan likes it that way. There are no barriers."

Everything is open, everybody mingles together and Kevin Keegan likes it that way. There are no barriers

Phil Neville

Neville has yet to establish himself as a regular for the United team, but his position with England seems secure with the dearth of left-sided players available to Keegan.

The player is actually right footed, but having seen his brother establish the right-back position as his own for club and country, he is more than happy to cover on the left.

Excited

"I am not apprehensive about having to fill the role. In fact, I am quite excited.

"If you are honest about things then there is a bit of a problem down the left-hand side. Nothing can change it. we are not going to pluck a Ryan Giggs out of the air from somewhere to fill the gap.

If you are honest about things then there is a bit of a problem down the left-hand side

Phil Neville

"But the attitude of the squad is `let's make the best of what we've got.' I want to stay in the England team and if I perform well on the left hand side then hopefully there is going to be a long England career for me."

"If you look at other areas of the team there are loads of players bidding for roles. So looking at it realistically the left side does represent the best chance for me to play a lot of games."