“The vindication will be if the players do what we want to do and we are in the Premiership at the end of the season,” he said.United started like a side determined to show their manager that he had made the right decision. “I had to look around because I’m not used to it here.”Warnock admitted that the result was a relief at the end of what he called: “A traumatic week,” but said that it did not, in itself, vindicate his decision to stay. After a run of three games without a win, losing 4-2 to Leicester last Saturday and almost losing their manager to Portsmouth in midweek, it was the result that mattered, rather than the way in which it was achieved.
At the end, Warnock punched the air in the direction of those supporters he must now convince that his heart is still with the club “The supporters were chanting my name,” he said. Alan Quinn’s messy first-half goal was enough to win an undistinguished Sheffield derby. Lille have the better head-to-head, so a draw would be perilous.Danger rival: Simao SabrosaSteve Tongue.

Neil Warnock’s managerial career with Sheffield United went into extra time yesterday, with an invaluable if uneven victory to keep them in touch with the top of the Championship. A laboured 2-1 win for United (6pts) over Benfica (5pts) at Old Trafford was the section’s highest-scoring game, but failure to win any of their next three matches means they have to sum up the spirit of Best and go for a victory that would win the group if Villarreal (7pts) draw at home to Lille (6pts). But apart from the financial bonus, it would be worth Ars? Wenger’s team making an effort to become the first British club, and only the fifth overall, to complete the group stage with a 100 per cent record.Danger rival: CharisteasWEDNESDAY: GROUP D – BENFICA v MAN UTDSo it has come to this, in the Group of Draws. Beating Inter (12pts), already assured of winning the group, would put them through whatever the other result, but it will be difficult.Danger rival: AdrianoWEDNESDAY: GROUP B – ARSENAL v AJAXArsenal, with five wins out of five, and Ajax, also qualified, will be tempted to blood younger players (even younger ones, in the Dutch club’s case).

He needs Artmedia Bratislava (5pts) to draw at home to Porto (4pts), as Rangers have a better head-to-head record against the Slovakian side, but not against the Portu-guese. Chelsea (10pts) should therefore go for a first victory in four Champions’ League games with Liverpool (11pts). Do not expect many goals; the previous three meetings produced one (which may not have crossed the line).TUESDAY: GROUP H – RANGERS v INTERNAZIONALEJudgement day for Alex McLeish, the manager of Rangers (6pts), whose job prospects, perversely, may depend on another match altogether. Just like George did every time he picked the ball up.”Mission Europe: The Battle of BritainTUESDAY: GROUP G – CHELSEA v LIVERPOOLJose Mourinho insists there is no great advantage in winning a group as opposed to finishing runners-up, but it would surely be better to meet, say, Schalke than Milan, or Udinese than Barcelona.

If you go to see United, you expect one or two players to get you on the edge of your seat, and Wayne does that. The potential’s tremendous with the set of players they’ve got. The problem they’ve had is that injuries have been horrendous.”Wayne Rooney is a real Man United player. And I don’t think he’ll face the same temptations as George did, because he was the first and nobody understood the situation Alex [Ferguson] understands it. You’re never satisfied with one, are you?”United had to be, until victory against the odds in 1999. Every year since, they have progressed beyond the group stages, but have only once looked capable of winning again, before unexpectedly losing to Bayer Leverkusen four seasons ago.But as is desirable in his role as a pundit for MUTV, Crerand remains optimistic, both about the longer term and this Wednesday’s return to Lisbon: “I still fancy United out there, I don’t think it’s over. We won it eventually, but only after Celtic [Crerand's former club] had become the first British winners, which was a feat in itself.