NICKY Butt has warned his Newcastle team-mates they will be facing 'a team of Roy Keanes' when they travel to the Stadium of Light for the season's opening Wear-Tyne derby on Saturday.

Butt will be a frustrated spectator after he picked up his fifth booking of the season in last weekend's 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth.

The former England international is, howevber, determined to ensure the rest of the Newcastle squad are not caught cold by the intensity of their opponents.

Having shared the same Old Trafford dressing room with Keane for the best part of nine years, Butt is all too aware of the Sunderland manager's motivational qualities.

After Keane lambasted his side's performance in the wake of Monday night's 1-0 defeat at Manchester City, the Magpies midfielder expects his former team-mate to guarantee his players mirror his own drive and determination.

"Roy was the most driven player I have played with, and I'm sure he'll have his players well prepared for Saturday," said Butt, who was Keane's neighbour when the pair lived in Cheshire.

"I haven't worked under him - I still speak to him a lot - but knowing the person that he is and the person that he was as a player, I'm sure he will be relishing it.

"He enjoyed the aggressive part of the game as everyone knows, and I'm sure he'll be looking forward to the derby.

"Roy prepared for every game the same. He was as intense in training as he was on the pitch. Judging by what the lads who I have spoke to at Sunderland say about him, he is exactly the same as a manager."

Butt played alongside Keane on numerous occasions at Old Trafford, and the 32-year-old's combative, all-action style is reminiscent of the former Manchester United captain.

He admits he learned a great deal from partnering one of English football's greatest ever midfielders, but balks at suggestions he has modelled himself on Keane.

"He was the type of player where you looked around the pitch and were delighted he was in your team," said Butt. "But I have never tried to emulate him.

"That's not me. Everyone is an individual, but to have been as successful as he was would be good."

Butt's tough-tackling approach will be sorely missed at the weekend, and the veteran admits he is devastated to have been denied an opportunity to experience his first Wear-Tyne derby.

"It was a game I really wanted to be involved in," he said. "I have been here four years and I have yet to play in that fixture.

"I would have loved to have played. It's something I had been especially looking forward to because I'm so close to Roy."