THE record books may not truly illustrate the length of time he spent at Old Trafford, but Phil Bardsley had 15 years playing in a Manchester United shirt. Most of which were as a schoolboy, having first signed for the club when he was eight.

This afternoon he will head back there with Sunderland, when the Salford-born full-back has every intention of preventing Sir Alex Ferguson from celebrating his 25th anniversary in charge with a victory that closes the gap to Premier League leaders Manchester City.

As a Black Cats player he has no qualms about that. As an ex-member of Ferguson's squad he is unlikely to make a song and dance of it even if United do suffer a surprising defeat.

"Sir Alex does say ‘hello' when you go back," said Bardsley. "The last time I went back he said ‘Don't kick any of my players or you're getting one of them!' So I didn't."

Bardsley was just 17 months old when Ferguson was appointed Ron Atkinson's successor on November 6, 1986. The early years were not convincing, but chairman Martin Edwards stuck by him because he could see the amount of work he had put in to revamping the youth and scouting systems.

Bardsley was five when Ferguson won his first piece of silverware in the shape of the FA Cup. And he was eight in 1993 - the year he first joined the United youth system that - when Ferguson led them to their first league title.

Having grown up near to United's old training ground, The Cliff, he was a regular watching the likes of Gary Pallister, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, when a certain Steve Bruce scored a stoppage time double against Sheffield Wednesday on the way to that elusive maiden championship success in 1993.

"Those two headers against Sheffield Wednesday, they highlight why they've been so successful. I don't think that football club will ever lose that. That drive to win, even when things look lost," said Bardsley.

"I remember that game, I wasn't there but I remember Brian Kidd going berserk on the sidelines. They were great memories for the club and the manager too I suppose."

Bardsley became the first eight-year-old in the United ranks to graduate all the way through the system, ultimately playing for the first team after call-ups to the Champions League and League Cup squads.

During his five years as a professional there, Bardsley had loan spells at Royal Antwerp, Burnley, Rangers, Aston Villa and Sheffield United. All of which helped him for when he was eventually persuaded by Roy Keane to move to Sunderland for £2m.

But he will never forget his experiences of playing for his boyhood and home club, even if it only amounted to eight first team appearances in the Premier League in more than a decade.

Still, he will not forget his run-ins with his first boss, Sir Alex.

"I first met him when I was 16, when we all got taken on as apprentices," said Bardsley. "My year was Kieran (Richardson), David Jones (at Wigan now), David Poole (who's just left Stockport) and Phil Picken (was at Bury). That was my year, we went into his office and he found out Poolie was a City fan.

"I can't say what happened after that but it was interesting! It was all good fun but still, you go into his office and you are a bit scared.

"Even that knock on the door … and then there's a brief silence, then it's the cough and him clearing his throat, before ‘Come in - who is it?'

"You pop your head around the door … it's a bit frightening at first when you're a bit young. Then you get used to it after a bit - especially when you get called in there so many times!

"As a United fan it was brilliant. You had to pinch yourself sometimes. It's hard to believe really.

"I'm reading Paul Scholes's book at the minute and he said that when he broke into the team he had to pinch himself playing with (Eric) Cantona, the gaffer, Robson and those players. And that's Scholes - for me it was everything you could wish for. But then they say all good things come to and end."

Bardsley's childhood friends will all be inside Old Trafford this afternoon looking for United to defeat Sunderland in the hope it will help Ferguson edge towards the 13th Premier League title of his reign.

But there is a sense that the club boasting two European Cups, five FA Cups and three League Cup triumphs during the most successful era in United's history, are facing a new threat from the blue half of Manchester. The recent 6-1 drubbing at Old Trafford, it could be argued, hinted there could be a shift in power.

"That was quite an incredible game," he said. "It was pretty even until half-time, then Mario Balotelli's goal … After that, when Jonny Evans got sent off ... Incredible. It just goes to show what Manchester United are like, they were still attacking after Jonny had been sent off. It was unbelievable, they probably should have shut up shop.

"It's a very difficult one to take because they're rivals and I know City have spent so much money, they've got so much power through their owners and everything but United are still the team to beat this season. It's going to be an interesting season, I'm sure it was a sore one for United to take on the day."

Undoubtedly Ferguson will have torn in to his players in the aftermath of that fixture, which has sparked a run of three successive wins ahead of Sunderland's visit today. Bardsley, however, has revealed Bruce can also deliver his own version of the hairdryer treatment.

Bardsley said: "There are similarities between the two. He's (Bruce) not particularly happy when things aren't going right - he expects things. The standards he sets are really high. When he comes in he's frustrated when we're not scoring or not defending properly or whatever.

"That's the way it should be - I can understand his frustration because he knows the amount of quality there is around the place. The big similarity is winning mentality. Obviously they're different managers, different characters - they are different man managers.

"Even on a Friday morning, when the English boys take on the rest of the world and we get the gaffer on our side ... he thinks he's Bobby Charlton or Dennis Law he says ‘Dennis Law is coming out of the washing machine' he says. It's all good but when he starts playing it's all serious again. He wants to win, seriously. The winning mentality they had when he was playing, it's unbelievable."

While all eyes will be on Ferguson this afternoon, there is also a need for Sunderland to come away with something. An improvement in recent form has lifted them up to 14th, but a defeat could see them drop in to the relegation mix once more.

After 11 games that would not be good enough. Bardsley said: "We feel it is beginning to turn. Performance-wise, we don't feel we've done too much wrong all season to be honest. Liverpool away, Swansea away, couple of good points there.

"The big turning point was Newcastle at home when we lost, but we dominated the game for 70 minutes even though we lost. As they say in football, if you don't score you're always vulnerable. And we conceded that day.

"That was a sore defeat and it knocked us a little bit but recent results and performances have got us back on track a bit. We deserve to be higher in the league to be honest but we can only do that by picking up more wins and picking up more points."

Whether a third Sunderland win of the season arrives this afternoon remains unlikely. If Sunderland were to spoil the Ferguson party, though, Bardsley could then see a side of his former boss he thought he had seen the last of.