MANCHESTER United were last night forced to pull the plug on an explosive interview in which Roy Keane identified the culprits for the club’s malaise. Keane’s frank assessments of the team are nothing new, but this time, pointing the finger at underachieving team-mates, he was so outspoken that the club’s in-house television station was forced into a desperate cover-up.

It had seemed a recipe for disaster when MUTV announced that Keane had been nominated for its Play the Pundit feature to analyse the catastrophic 4-1 defeat by Middlesbrough on Saturday. The defence, in which Rio Ferdinand, John O’Shea and Kieran Richardson have been struggling for form, came in for severe criticism.

In the event, the interview was conducted by MUTV’s Steve Bower as planned, with the injured captain dissecting one of the team’s worst performances during Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure, but the content was so shocking that the television station’s management deemed it “unbroadcastable”, a verdict with which David Gill, the chief executive, agreed.

Suspicions were raised when the programme, which was to be screened at 6.30pm, disappeared from the schedule list an hour beforehand, to be replaced by Gary Neville Plays the Pundit. In the end, Neville’s thoughts were not forthcoming either, with MUTV instead showing a half-hour feature on their youth academy. Peter Brookes, the station’s managing director, said last night that he was “not commenting ” on the matter, while a club spokesperson said there would be “no comment on it at all”.

The cover-up could be described as a public relations triumph in terms of damage limation — the only two copies of the programme are said to be under lock and key at MUTV’s headquarters — but the vague details that have emerged about Keane’s comments hardly paint the picture of a club united in anything but name. Keane is said to have “named names”, accusing several players of lacking the necessary attitude to play for United.

Ferdinand, the club’s £30 million record signing, was so abject on Saturday that he was substituted so that team-mates “did not have to cover his position”, according to Carlos Queiroz, the assistant manager.

Ferdinand was said to be seething at his substitution, which, with his team 4-0 down with three minutes left, seemed to be about making a point. But he is the foremost of several United players who will fly to Paris this morning for tomorrow’s crucial Champions League match against Lille, having been told by an angry Ferguson that Saturday’s performance was unacceptable.

Ferguson’s choice of captain will be interesting. With Keane, Ryan Giggs and Neville injured and Paul Scholes suspended, Ferdinand would be the obvious choice, but he has not worn the armband since his contract dispute with the club last spring and it would not be a surprise if Edwin van der Sar or Ruud van Nistelrooy is given the honour.

A lack of options in defence means that Ferdinand should keep his place, but while he claims to have “responded in a positive manner” to being dropped by Sven-Göran Eriksson for England’s World Cup qualifier against Austria last month, he will have plenty to prove in the Stade de France. Gordon McQueen, the former United defender, said: “I know he’s a laid-back character, but he will be hurting inside.”

That, though, is the type of truism that Keane is believed to have challenged when approached by MUTV. No one at Old Trafford would question his desire to win, which is one reason why Ferguson — who was said to be furious at the outburst — is so eager to persuade the 34-year-old not to carry out his threat to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

In his absence, Ferdinand and others have been left in no doubt that standards must improve.