Butt is on to a win double as he plots Chelsea’s downfall

Butt is the clear victor in his own battle to win over Newcastle supporters.

Stalwart: Nicky Butt's former team-mates have been texting him for help

Under previous management he was seen to be surplus to requirements and hived off on a season's loan to Birmingham. But in two seasons of boardroom and managerial turmoil since then, the 33-year-old midfielder has more than endorsed the words of Ferguson when he sold him to Sir Bobby Robson for a bargain £2.5million in the summer of 2004 — "He'll do a great job for you".

Now he is one of the first names on Kevin Keegan's team-sheet and has played a pivotal role in Newcastle's recent resurgence. The Chelsea visit provides him with an opportunity to help his current and former team at the same time.

"The fact that Manchester United are going for the double makes this an even bigger game for me personally," he said. "I was a long time at Old Trafford and I've got a lot of friends there still. Obviously, first and foremost we want to do well for ourselves and finish the season on the right note but the added bonus for me is that I can help my friends out as well.

"The Chelsea game is definitely our biggest test so far. We've had a lot of good games over the last six or seven weeks but now we're up against truly great players and a great team.

"They are certainly going to come here with all guns blazing and it's up to us to compete against them."

While pinpointing striker Michael Owen's new role behind Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins as significant in the Newcastle climb to safety, Butt is also happier with the extra responsibility he has been given in Keegan's set-up.

"I sit a lot deeper and get a lot more freedom than when I'm up against another player. You get a lot more time on the ball and I'm enjoying it."

And he revealed how his determination to extend his club playing career as long as possible encouraged him to take a leaf out of his big mate Paul Scholes' book and cut short his international career.

"Three or four years ago I spoke to Sven Goran Eriksson and told him, at my age, I don't want to be travelling all around the country and the world and sitting in the stand," he recalled. "He told me if I wasn't going to be needed he wouldn't pick me for the squad and I was happy with that. That's still the case now."

With one year left on his contract, Butt has no thoughts of retirement yet.

"The end comes for everybody but I've always been the battling type who can go on a bit longer," he said. "I've got one season left and anything beyond that is a bonus, really.

"If I'm playing well and enjoying it then I'd love to stay for another year but I don't want to be in football just for the sake of it.

"I want to keep playing until I know I can't maintain my personal standards."

Games to Go

Manchester United May 11 v Wigan (a)

Chelsea Tomorrow v Newcastle (a) (4.0pm, Sky Sports 1) May 11 v Bolton (h)