Leaked details of the interview with MUTV suggested Keane had delivered damning verdicts on the performances of Alan Smith, John O'Shea, Kieran Richardson, Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand in Saturday's humiliating 4-1 defeat by Middlesbrough.

Liam Miller, who did not play on Saturday, was also understood to have been included in a verbal broadside against the perceived lack of desire and sloppy attitude of some of United's younger players.

That has been the theme of previous rants from the notoriously short-fused Keane in the past, although he has never before directly identified the individuals he was targetting.

The interview with Keane had been due for broadcast on Monday night but was pulled after the intervention of chief executive David Gill, reportedly with the blessing of Ferguson.

The row could not have erupted at a worse time for the Scot, who is desperately trying to get United's season back on track in the wake of the Middlesbrough debacle, which has left his side trailing Chelsea by a massive 13 points in the Premiership title race.

A defeat by Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday would leave United struggling to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition and would inevitably trigger renewed speculation that the Scot's 19-year tenure at Old Trafford could be drawing to a close.

But as he prepared to fly out to Paris with his squad, Ferguson was in no mood to respond to questions about the Keane interview.

Instead, he reiterated the importance of producing a performance to demonstrate that Saturday's setback was nothing more than a blip.

"That is the great thing about football - we have had a few days to recover from a bad result and hopefully we can put things right tomorrow," Ferguson said.

Keane, who is currently sidelined with a broken foot, has already said he does not expect to be playing at United next season, although the club are hoping to dissuade him from moving on following the expiry of his current contract.

The latest episode may have ensured that Keane will definitely quit Old Trafford. His suggestion that the current squad are simply not good enough or the impression that the club is in disarray will not have gone down well with the United hierarchy.

But everyone at Old Trafford is acutely aware that Keane will leave a huge gulf in the middle of the United midfield behind him.

Ferguson has spent the last three years trying to find a replacement for the 34-year-old. Eric Djemba Djemba and Brazilian World Cup winner Kleberson were both found wanting and United are currently attempting to convert Alan Smith, bought from Leeds as a striker, to a midfield enforcer in the Keane mould.

Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted morale had been affected by the defeat at Middlesbrough.

"There is a very negative feeling after Saturday," he said. "You could talk for hours about what went wrong. It was a bad performance and we didn't do ourselves or the fans justice.

"We have to try to look at things in a realistic way. In my first season here, we lost the derby (against Manchester City) at home. That was also a low point. But it was an unusual occurrence. We have not conceded four in how many years.

"What we have to do is go out tomorrow and prove ourselves again."

Ferguson has included 17-year-old Belfast-born central defender Johnny Evans, who has no previous first-team experience, in his squad for Wednesday's match.

With Keane out and Paul Scholes suspended, Rio Ferdinand could captain United in the Stade de France on Wednesday, despite his shaky recent form.