SHAY GIVEN last night warned his Newcastle United teammates to beware a Manchester United backlash after David Beckham and Co were outclassed by Real Madrid's "Playstation football".

Newcastle goalkeeper Given was mesmerised by Real's outstanding display, but he fears United will be stung into producing their best at St James' Park today after their Bernabeu performance was widely condemned.

He said: "Real Madrid were absolutely brilliant against United. Some of the football was Playstation stuff.

"I don't think any team could have lived with them, and so I thought it was a bit harsh on United that they got a lot of criticism.

"That will have hurt them, and there will be a reaction to that against us.

"We've got to focus on ourselves and try to play at our best; after all, we want to bounce back after our defeat at Everton.

"But we'll have to make sure we're at the top of our game because there will definitely be a reaction from United.

"Our home record against United hasn't been too bad recently. But they've got a lot of quality players and a lot of class."

Given had to suffer the ignominy of picking the ball out of his net five times in November's chastening Old Trafford trouncing.

Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a hat-trick in United's 5-3 win, and Alan Shearer described his team's defending as a "shambles".

Given said: "We couldn't live with Manchester United on the day and van Nistelrooy got three tap-ins. It was a depressing result.

"We needed to improve on that, and sometimes criticism does spark players into improving.

"Not many keepers have kept out van Nistelrooy this season. I've been thinking of building a wall to cover up the goal!

"He's been on fire - his goal record speaks for itself - and he's in my team of the year.

"Fabien Barthez was voted the best goalkeeper when France won the 1998 World Cup, and who am I to argue with credentials like those?

"But you get seasons when you think you're invincible at home, and we're confident going into every game.

"This will be a massively hard game for us, but we managed to get a draw against Arsenal when we had only ten men for the last half-an-hour. If we can keep everyone on the park against United, we're confident we can get a win."

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