Neville: Finances not our business

Gary Neville insists Manchester United's players will not be affected by the off-field rumblings of discontent over the club's finances.

Documents released last week in conjunction with a proposed £500million bond issue suggested the Glazer family would be willing to sell United's Carrington training complex and their iconic Old Trafford home should enormous debt prove impossible to repay.

Many critics argue that is inevitable given the vast amounts of interest the club are responsible for, with only the £80million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo allowing them to record a profit for the year to June 2009.

Extra security measures were taken on Saturday as United defeated Burnley 3-0, while chants of 'We want the Glazers out' were heard.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has declined to comment on the situation, claiming he is restricted by regulatory rules.

However, Neville is adamant the whole thing is none of his team-mates' business and could not be used as an excuse for failure on the pitch.

"All the speculation about the finances at Manchester United does not affect the players," he told the Sunday Times in Malta.

"We are always very well protected and never get involved in the financial side of things.

"There have been talks and rumours over the years going back to when the Glazers took over, and even when Michael Knighton nearly took over in the 1980s.

"As players we never get involved in those things; our job is purely on the pitch and we allow people who are paid to do jobs in other areas of the club to do their job.

"It is nothing to do with us at all."

Nevertheless, it is likely to remain an issue for some considerable time, especially as the anti-Glazer faction among the United support are mobilising themselves.

The general mood would improve with a victory at Manchester City in the eagerly-awaited Carling Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday night, though.

Darron Gibson and the Da Silva brothers Rafael and Fabio are all in Ferguson's mind as he ponders whether to stick with the youngsters who have steered United to the last four.

Whether Dimitar Berbatov will be involved is a different matter given the £30.75million record signing was forced out of Saturday's game after opening the scoring.

Ferguson confirmed he was once again feeling discomfort from a knee injury the Bulgarian has so far ignored advice to have an exploratory operation on.