Neville facing battle for place

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Neville has not played for the Red Devils since March after breaking his ankle and suffering a string of setbacks in his bid to regain fitness.

"Obviously what's going against me is the fact I haven't played football for 10 months. And I think it could be difficult for me to get a match," he said.

The England defender has been back in full training recently but was not risked by Ferguson during a productive festive period which yielded nine points for the title chasers.

And with Wes Brown filling in capably in his absence, the 32-year-old is realistic enough to know that he could struggle to win back a regular starting place.

"It's hard to say how far away from a return I am, to be honest," he told the club's official website.

"The lads have some momentum going now, they've defended well and Wes has done extremely well at right-back. There aren't many opportunities for the manager to throw me into the side to ease me back in."

Meanwhile, Ferguson has expressed his satisfaction with the way United's season has gone so far.

Currently second to Arsenal as they look to defend their Barclays Premier League title, United have also moved smoothly into the Champions League knock-out phase and on Saturday open their latest FA Cup quest with a trip to Aston Villa.

"Right at this point, I am very pleased with how the campaign is going," said Ferguson. "We have lost a couple of games but our consistency overall has been very good."