NEVILLE VS. VIEIRA

“Vieira came towards me as we were going in from the warm-up. He said he thought I kicked Arsenal players when we played against them. I told him to calm down because the game hadn't even started.

“Because of the previous bother there were security guards and police all over the tunnel area. They pulled him away and me to one side. But coming out for the game, he said the same to me. I told him to calm down again and another policeman stepped in and pulled me to the back of the tunnel.

“Roy had heard something going on and had words with Vieira. The myth is that he dragged Vieira off me when he was pummelling me against the wall. I'm sure that myth will grow and in ten years it will be Roy saved me from Vieira when he had me by the throat.”

Neville also revealed there had been previous incidents in the tunnel that had led to security guards and police officers being positioned to keep the rival players apart.

“Vieira made a huge mistake because he got emotional before the game and it cost them. They were very emotional all game and that's not Arsenal. All the pre-match stuff got into their heads and it cost them. The emotional overload was too much for them.”